


Counterpoint and Equilibrium

by TheLadyDisdain



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Gen, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-17 19:48:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 154,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14838074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyDisdain/pseuds/TheLadyDisdain
Summary: The All Valley tournament is over, Cobra Kai has won, but for some reason nobody really feels like a winner. Summer has arrived early to the San Fernando Valley, bringing new kids to the dojo... and maybe a second chance for Johnny.AU set right after Season 1 of Cobra Kai. This is a Johnny Lawrence/OC story, and my first one in this fandom.





	1. Heatwave

CHAPTER 1. HEATWAVE

A temperature of 90 degrees in the San Fernando Valley was not unusual.

That temperature before noon in the early days of June, however, was unexpected, and it had thrown everybody out of pace.

Johnny Lawrence sat in his office, looking outside the door towards the empty dojo. Empty since the day of the tournament, as if Kreese’s apparition had left behind some curse. Johnny grabbed the cold bottle of beer on his desk and pressed it against his forehead, but the burning headache stayed in place. He was tired of pushing away intrusive images of his conversation with his former Sensei, tired of trying to decide if his suggestion of working together had been an offer of peace... or a threat.

_I have business out of town, a few weeks. Then I’ll be back, and you better have an answer ready._

He had given the kids two weeks of vacation. A reward for winning, he’d said... but deep down he dreaded the moment they would come back. Back to Cobra Kai, and his methods, back to the teachings he had taken a step too far.

A tiny silhouette cast a shadow in the morning light, followed by two larger shadows.

“Sensei? Are you there?”

He emptied the bottle of beer, threw it in the trash, and stepped out of the office. Little Bert was there, accompanied by Miguel and Aisha.

“You’re early.” Johnny smiled. Bert reminded him of what he once had been. Small, weak... but determined. “Welcome back. I suppose you’ve spent the last two weeks playing videogames with your lazy asses planted on the couch, and forgetting everything you knew about karate.”

Aisha adjusted her glasses over her nose. “I’ve been swimming in the sea, three miles every day”, she said proudly. “And Bert has been practicing his punching”, she added, pointing at the kid’s slightly reddened knuckles.

“I’ll be ready next year, Sensei”, the boy stated, with a very serious face.

“Well done. And you, Diaz?”

Miguel stared at him with sad eyes and looked away. “Nothing”, he muttered, walking with slow steps towards the locker room.

“He’s still pining for Sam”, said Aisha, rolling her eyes. “Every day I’ve been telling him to come with us to the beach, or to the movies, to celebrate his victory... but he’s been in a mood.”

“He’ll snap out of it. Now, you two, go get changed and start warming up before the others arrive.”

After the kids left, Johnny stood in the middle of the tatami, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Of course Miguel was in a mood. Aisha was friends again with the LaRusso girl, which meant she knew who Robby really was. And if Aisha knew, then Miguel had found out too. Probably seen it as a betrayal, and now he would have to win the boy’s trust again. Somehow.

He strutted back to his office, grabbed two aspirin from the first aid kit and swallowed them dry.

It was going to be a long summer.

* * *

 

A few blocks away from the Cobra Kai dojo, the scorching heat was proving to be a blessing for certain people, especially the ones fortunate enough to have a way of staying cool.

The view into the courtyard of the apartment complex was perfect like a postcard: two little girls swimming and splashing in the pool, and an old lady in a flowery dress watching them, comfortably seated under a big parasol. The peaceful scene, however, had an unusual background noise: the rhythmic pounding of a hammer came from the open door of one of the apartments on the upper floor, followed by a few grunts and, every couple of minutes, an occasional curse.

The old lady turned towards the place where the noise came from.

“Are you sure you don’t need help, dear?”

The hammering stopped, and a woman appeared at the door. Still with the hammer in her hand, she went downstairs.

“Thank you, Mrs. Wright”, she said, letting herself fall in a chair by the pool, “but I’ve just finished.”

“With everything? My God!”

“Four chairs, two bookcases, a desk for Rani’s room and a bathroom cabinet.” The younger woman reclined back in her chair, trying to soothe her exhausted muscles. She was wearing an old Nirvana t-shirt, faded and full of holes, and a pair of equally old shorts. Both her clothes and her person were covered in dust and sweat.

“I hate moving. After I finish unpacking, I swear I’m going to stay in Reseda for the rest of my days”, she sighed. “I also hate IKEA, their furniture, and above all I hate their damned instructions leaflets. What on Earth possessed me to assemble all those things by myself?”

“Dear Kate, these are the moments in life when a man comes in handy”, answered Mrs. Wright with a wink.

Kate laughed. “Well, I don’t have one of those at hand right now, so I’m glad I can manage alone.”

Sheltering her eyes from the blinding sun, she looked at the two girls in the pool. They were swimming slowly towards the edge, tired of playing. The taller of the two girls stayed in the water, her mane of yellow curls floating like a halo around her. The other one, a thin kid with tawny brown skin and a braid of black hair, ran towards the sitting area with a big grin on her face.

“Mom, this place is great! I’m so happy that we have a swimming pool!” She planted a big kiss on Kate’s cheek, ran towards the pool again and jumped in, laughing as she made a huge splash all around her.

“Careful with those jumps, Rani!”

“Oh, let her play, she’s having a great time”, said Mrs. Wright. “You didn’t have a pool in San Francisco?”

“No, our apartment there only had a balcony and a small garden. At least here she’ll have a proper space to play outside... and I’m so glad she’s made a friend already. Your granddaughter is a lovely kid.”

The older woman took a sip of her lemonade and looked at the pool with fondness. “Well, Millie is going to be in the same grade as your daughter when school starts, so it’s natural that they become friends. Is Rani going to apply for the swimming team? Millie really loves it there.”

“Oh, I wish”, answered Kate. “But ever since she started getting karate lessons two years ago, she won’t even hear about taking any other sports. I’m glad of it, really. A girl needs to know how to defend herself... And that reminds me, I have to get online, research the dojos in the Valley, and decide on one of them. We moved here three days ago and Rani has asked me about it fifty times already.”

“Isn’t she a bit young for such a violent sport?”

“Karate is less violent than it looks. Besides, she’s almost eight, and she just got her orange belt. I couldn’t keep her from training even if I tried.”

With those words Kate got up, grabbed the hammer she had dropped on the ground and started going up the stairs. “Thanks again for looking after Rani, Mrs. Wright. I’m going to take a shower and then I’ll make lunch for all of us. It’s the least I can do.”

“Don’t sweat it, honey. I really don’t mind watching two instead of one.”

The elderly woman poured herself another glass of lemonade and contemplated the view. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. Across the courtyard, the two tall palm trees displayed their distinctive silhouettes against the blue sky.

* * *

 

In another part of the city, Daniel LaRusso sat on the hardwood floor of his brand new dojo. He had closed the blinds so he could concentrate in the light of the candle in front of him, but no amount of meditation seemed to be helping.

 _Build it and they will come_ , he thought, like in Field of Dreams. Of course, the building had already been there for years, and he had taken care of keeping it in pretty good shape. All he’d needed to morph Mr. Miyagi’s former house into a full-on dojo was a few thousand dollars and a couple of weeks’ work of a contractor and his crew.

And there it was, the new home of Miyagi-Do: freshly painted, polished, and furnished. And also very, very empty.

Robby had visited the place a few times after the night of the tournament, but his shoulder wasn’t fully healed yet and he couldn’t train. Sam had told him she wanted to try karate again, but she had also been sadder and quieter and stayed in her room most of the time... probably because of that damned Cobra Kai boy. He had even tried Anthony again, only to be rudely rebuffed, but that hadn’t been exactly a surprise.

The truth was, he needed more students, and he wasn’t really sure of the best way to get them.

He had considered and discarded the idea of setting up a webpage. Mr. Miyagi would have said that advertising like that was undignified. Or course, he could always ask the tournament committee for help; he was sure they would send some students his way, but sadly they were closed for the summer.

There was another idea forming in his mind, and he didn’t like it.

Aisha. Now that she was friends with Sam again, how hard could it be to persuade her to leave Cobra Kai, and maybe bring one or two more people with her? Was that the way he wanted to start, stealing students from another dojo? On the other hand, recruiting Aisha was also a way of saving her from Johnny Lawrence and his band of juvenile delinquents. He could talk to her parents, tell them how concerned he was about the companies their daughter was keeping, ask them to make her move to Miyagi-Do...

Daniel opened his eyes, blew out the candle and lay down on the floor.

No matter how many times he repeated it in his head, he didn’t really believe that all the new Cobra Kai kids were as bad as the old ones. At least not that tiny kid with the glasses, he seemed completely harmless. Besides, if Aisha had found new friends at the dojo, she was probably too loyal to abandon them.

He had done everything in his power to prevent Cobra Kai from coming back to life, and it hadn’t been enough. Daniel knew he would always fight against everything Cobra Kai represented, but he also knew that stealing Johnny’s students was not the way to go.

He needed to find his own way.

* * *

 

“How long have you been living here, Mrs. Wright?”

Kate left the jar of iced coffee on the table and sat beside their neighbor. They had already finished their lunch; both her daughter and Mrs. Wright’s granddaughter had eaten like little wolves, dreadfully hungry after all the swimming, and they were now on the couch watching a Paw Patrol episode.

“I’ve lived in Reseda all my life, dearie. In this apartment... well, almost forty years.”

“Wow, that’s a long time”, said the younger woman with a smile. “You must be really fond of this place... and I don’t blame you, it’s fantastic.”

“Oh, it hasn’t always been like this. Back when I moved here the apartments were old and tired, the swimming pool was empty and full of green slime, and every week one of the washing machines in the laundry room would break down and leak water all over the basement. No, the only pretty thing about this place back then was the name: South Seas.”

Kate served two more glasses of iced coffee and offered one to Mrs. Wright. “I’m glad I didn’t get to see them that way or I never would have moved here. When did they fix everything?”

“At one point things got so bad that the owners were going to demolish it, but they gave it a few more years. Then in 1994 there was that earthquake in the Valley... you must have seen it in the news.”

“Only in passing, I think”, answered Kate. “To be completely honest, 1994 was my senior year in high school, so I wasn’t really interested in serious things. And I still lived in Seattle with my parents, of course. An earthquake in California must have seemed like something happening in another planet.”

“It was quite big, many people lost their homes”, continued the older woman. “The owner of South Seas also owned a warehouse that collapsed a few blocks away from here. He got a lot of money from the insurance, and he decided to sell the warehouse lot and use the money to fix South Seas. A man’s tragedy is another man’s luck, I guess.”

Before Kate could think of a good answer, a loud ‘ping’ came from her laptop on a nearby table, and her daughter stopped paying attention to the TV.

“Mom, you’ve got mail!” she said with a delighted squeal. “Maybe one of the dojos has answered you!”

“That was fast... let me see.”

She got the laptop and sat at the table again, this time surrounded by the two excitable little girls.

“Who is it, Mom?”

“We’ve got answers from two of them so far. Not bad, considering I only wrote to four dojos right before lunch.” Kate adjusted the screen so everybody could read, and tucked a stray strand of brown hair into her already messy ponytail. “Okay, so... we have an email from a Mrs. Perkins at Topanga Karate; she says the dojo is always open to teach young martial arts enthusiasts, and they would be delighted to have you. Look, she even sends some pictures.”

Rani’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Oh, Mom, they wear a blue gi! I love it!”

“Oooh, blue is my favorite color!” Added her friend Millie, who didn’t really like karate but wanted to support her new friend. “You have to go there, Rani, and I’ll go see you fight and cheer for you at all the tournaments!”

“Speaking of tournaments”, continued Kate, “the other email is from the dojo that won the All Valley this year. A lovely message from a Miss... Aisha Robinson, who says they really, really, _really_ need more girls at the dojo, and that we should pay them a visit whenever we want. There are no pictures on this one, but their logo is a very fierce snake. And it’s really close, I could walk you there every day.”

Rani observed the screen, intrigued. “I like snakes.”

“I know you do, honey”, laughed Kate. “But maybe we shouldn’t decide just on that. I’ll tell you what: let’s look for some videos on YouTube so we can see the two dojos in action.”

She opened another tab on her browser and started searching. After a few seconds she clicked on the first result of a very long list of videos labeled 'All Valley Karate Tournament'.

“Stone ver... vers...” Rani read, struggling a little with the unfamiliar word. “Stone versus Diaz.”

Both women and both girls stared at the screen for a few minutes, entranced. Mrs. Wright flinched a couple of times. When the video ended, Kate closed the tab and looked at her daughter.

“That was an impressive fight. And from the look on your face, missy, I think I can guess which dojo was your favorite.”

“Did you just see what that boy did? Mom, I want to learn that. I _have_ to go there.”

“It’s a different style of karate than the one you did back in San Francisco. Are you sure you don’t want to try Topanga first?”

The girl’s eyebrows furrowed, forming a tiny scrunch over her nose. “I’m sure, Mom. That’s my dojo. Cobra Kai.”

“Very well, decision made... unless I see something I don’t like. I’ll take you there tomorrow after work, and we’ll see what this Cobra Kai place has to offer.”

 


	2. Rattlesnake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate gets acquainted with his new job and reunites with an old friend. Cobra Kai has a new candidate in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited about posting this chapter, because it's when Johnny and my OFC meet. Let's see if the spark between them is hot enough to justify the creation of this fic. The first part of the chapter is more character introduction and background info (sorry, my characters tend to talk a lot and I need Kate to interact with people), but in the second scene we go back to the dojo that we love.

CHAPTER 2. RATTLESNAKE

The Encino Corporate Center in Ventura Boulevard was a new state-of-the-art building, constructed and planned to attract all the cutting-edge companies in the Valley.

Half of the 4th floor of the Center had been recently occupied by Powell and Morgan, the law firm. The two main partners had recently moved the company there in the hopes of expanding it and hiring some new associates to help with the flourishing business.

One of those new acquisitions had just been shown to her office. Sitting behind her desk she inspected the furniture, her computer, the neatly lined law books on the shelves... everything was bigger, better and shinier than her old office in San Francisco. There was already a pile of new cases on her desk, and she was about to call her secretary when the phone rang, making her snap out of her daydreaming.

“Hello.”

“Mr. McMichaels to see you, Miss Williams.”

“Thank you, Sally, let him in. And please, call me Kate. We’re going to work together, and ‘Miss Williams’ sounds like the name of an old spinster from a Dickens novel.”

“Yes, Miss Wi... I mean, Kate. Thank you.”

Kate repressed a somewhat bitter smile. Her secretary, like everything else in her office, was also brand new, fresh out of college. She couldn’t help feeling old for a moment, until the door opened and a tall Black man beamed at her with his arms open.

“Kate Williams! I never thought I’d see the day when we would work together again.”

“Kevin!” She got up and hugged him. “You look amazing; it feels like I saw you yesterday for the last time, instead of two years ago.”

“And you look like a million bucks, darling”, he said. “Well, how do you like your new office, Junior Partner Williams?”

“This is not an office, Senior Partner McMichaels, it’s a palace. Seriously, I was expecting a dinky desk and a filing cabinet next to the toilets... and I even have a view over the boulevard!”

“You won’t have a lot of time to look out of the window”, remarked Kevin, unbuttoning the jacket of his expensive Italian suit before sitting at the opposite side of Kate’s desk. “Our esteemed bosses Mr. Powell and Mrs. Morgan want to meet you in the lion’s den in twenty minutes. I promised them a brilliant lawyer, and if you don’t deliver they will eat _me_ alive.”

“Don’t worry, Kev, I’m dying to get to work... I wouldn't call myself brilliant, but I'll do my best. How have you been? Sorry for not calling you as soon as I arrived, you know moving is always a nightmare.”

“Don’t mention it. I hope your new place is as nice as it promised, the pictures you sent didn’t look too bad… but tell me, why Reseda? I know money’s not an issue, you could have found something better. And closer to work.”

“I don’t need to live in a huge fancy house in Encino”, she answered. “It would be a waste of space for just two people.”

“There are apartments here too, you know. Or in Lake Balboa, where your brother lives.”

Kate stopped leafing through the documents on the desk and stared at her friend. “Luxury apartments, in walled up communities where nobody knows their neighbors. Eighty per cent of the population of Encino is white, Kev… and my daughter is not. I’m sure you of all people understand why I’d rather raise her in a more diverse neighborhood.”

“Of course I understand. I’ve gotten used to wearing a suit even when I’m not at work, that way I don’t freak out all my white neighbors”, answered the man, raising an eyebrow. “But I enjoy the luxury of living here, so I can’t really complain. Hey, speaking of little Rani… why don’t you pick her up after work and come to dinner with me and Oliver? You can tell me everything I’ve missed these past two years.”

“Oliver?” asked Kate, intrigued. “What happened to that boyfriend you had last time I saw you... the actor? Giovanni?”

Kevin covered his eyes with his hand. “Oh, that thing with Giovanni ended in a lot of drama. It’s a long story, I’ll tell you one day over a big glass of wine... but not now, there are some sordid details that I’d rather not discuss in the office.”

“Fine, let’s forget about the actor. I’ll be really happy to meet Oliver. What does he do?”

“He’s a personal shopper.”

“Ah, that explains the smartness of your suit”, said Kate with a coy smile. “At last, someone has been able to teach you how to dress!”

“Don’t be messy, Katey. You’re wearing a pantsuit, it’s not like you’re a fashion icon.”

Kate made a face at her friend. “Pants are comfortable, they look professional, and that’s how I want to be at work. Not everybody has to look like a model, especially at our age.”

“Ah, yes, the ripe old age or forty-two. A few more years and we’ll go straight into the nursing home.”

“Cut it, Kev, I already feel old enough with that overgrown teenager of a secretary sitting outside”, she sighed. “Anyway, I can’t make plans this afternoon. I’m taking Rani to her new karate lessons, and I already wrote to the dojo saying we’d be there around five.”

“How’s the little munchkin? I’d love to see her soon, she must have grown so much!”

“Oh, she’s a great kid. Clever and hyperactive like always.” Kate showed him the photo frame on her desk, that contained a picture of her and her daughter. “I feel like a bad mom saying this, but... I’ll be glad when school starts again and she can set into a routine. She can be a handful sometimes.”

“All kids are, I guess. But I’ve always thought adopting Rani is the best thing you’ve done in your life.”

This time Kate’s smile was wider than ever. “The absolute best.”

* * *

 

Training at Cobra Kai was going well, despite the heat.

Johnny had installed a couple of ceiling fans, but there was no air conditioning. That would have been a concession to weakness, and he didn’t want the kids to turn weak after all he had worked with them for months and months.

The fourteen Cobras were in pairs, sparring. Bert was throwing some fierce punches at Aisha, who seemed to have gained a lot of agility from all the swimming; further away, Miguel and Hawk were exchanging and blocking kicks, faster and faster. Even Virgin had stopped flinching every time a punch came his way; the weakling kid was on his way to become a fighter.

He had already talked to Aisha about the downside of being a sore loser. The girl had pouted and protested, of course, but in the end she had taken it like a man... or, rather, like a woman. But Johnny still hadn’t been able to get into Hawk’s head that his actions at the tournament had been dishonorable; the kid had too many years of resentment on his back, too many chips on his shoulder, and every time Johnny brought up the subject he reacted badly.

On the other hand, he hadn’t even tried to talk to Miguel yet. Losing Robby to Daniel was bad enough, he didn’t want to push this one away. Soon the boy would meet another chick and forget all about that damned LaRusso girl, and then things would get back to normal.

Whatever the fuck _normal_ was.

He looked at the clock on the wall. Aisha had come to him earlier, parroting about a new girl interested in the dojo and an email she had exchanged with her mother. He wasn’t opposed to having more girls there, especially if they were like Aisha... he just hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with a spoiled brat who whined and complained all day. Well, Aisha had said the girl would be at Cobra Kai at five, and it was almost time.

A discreet cough called his attention, and he looked at the door. At first he only saw the woman, checked her out quickly from head to toe like he usually did: brown hair, pretty eyes, blood red nails. Nice, he liked red nails. The effect was somewhat spoiled by the grey pantsuit she was wearing. Why couldn’t women dress like women?

He almost didn’t notice the little girl until she let go of her mother’s hand and gazed at the sparring Cobras with a fascinated smile on her face. A tiny slip of a girl, small and scrawny. Not exactly what he was expecting, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and the dojo needed the money.

“Welcome to Cobra Kai. I’m Sensei Lawrence.”

“Kate Williams”, said the woman, offering him a handshake. “And this is Rani.”

He looked down at the little girl, very serious.

“So this is the girl who wants to join Cobra Kai... Why do you think you’re worth it?”

“Because this is the best dojo and I want to train with the best.” Rani jutted her chin up without losing her smile. “I am an orange belt in Shudokan Karate.”

By that point all the other kids had stopped what they were doing to look at the newcomer with curiosity.

“Five minutes’ break”, announced Johnny. “Don’t go anywhere, this won’t take long.”

He turned back to Rani, purposely ignoring the mother.

“Shudokan is fine, but it’s not that we do here. And as you can see, everybody in this dojo is bigger and older than you... How old are you, anyway?”

“I’ll be eight next week. And if you don’t believe I know how to fight, I can show you.”

Cocky kid. Johnny couldn’t help smiling.

“Very well. Bert! Come here, Miss Rani is going to demonstrate all she knows.”

Bert stepped on the middle of the tatami, while all the others sat down on the floor. The blond kid was several inches taller than Rani.

“Face each other. Bow... fight!”

Johnny was expecting a quick match, of course. Just not that quick. It barely lasted ten seconds before Bert was laying on the black and red mat, face down.

A collective gasp escaped from the throats of the other Cobras.

Johnny saw a lot of things in those ten seconds. The girl knew her kata, that was a fact. She was fast, graceful like a tiny ballet dancer... and she had also been smart enough to use her smaller size as leverage and kick the boy out of balance. Not bad at all. He also saw the triumphant smile on the faces of both mother and child. The kid wasn’t the only one who felt cocky for winning.

“Get up, Bert.” He scanned the room quickly in search of another contender. “Miss Robinson, your turn.”

Aisha stepped up, and the grin on Rani’s face turned into serious concern. Johnny was suddenly aware of a rustling sound coming from the tatami, a sound he had been hearing for a while without paying attention to it.

“Quiet, everyone. What’s that noise?”

Rani lifted her left hand, letting him see the string of wooden beads wrapped in several loops around her wrist. It was so long that it reached half the way up her forearm.

“My Japa Mala. It’s from India, like me. I always wear it when I fight.”

Johnny nodded, remembering a lecture Miguel had given him one day about why it was best to leave other people’s cultural artifacts alone, no matter how silly they looked.

“Makes you sound like a rattlesnake.” He looked at Aisha, who had assumed a fighting stance but seemed a bit doubtful. “Come on, ladies, or we’ll be here until tomorrow. Fight!”

This time it lasted a bit longer. The smaller girl started on defense, more kata. Clever move against a big opponent. Aisha was simply better and stronger; Rani took a couple of hits, dodged a few more, and ended up hitting the mat, of course... but not before one of her tiny fists landed squarely on Aisha’s ribs.

“That was amazing!” she exclaimed while Aisha helped her up.

“Are you hurt?” asked the older girl.

Rani shook her head. “Nah, I’m fine.” She looked at Johnny, expectant, and there was a long pause before he spoke.

“I won’t teach you kata here”, he said. “I can’t promise you won’t get hurt. And I will ask you to give your all, every class. Every day. Can you do that, kid?”

She pressed her lips in a thin line before answering and looked at her mother, who nodded in silence.

“Yes, Sensei.”

“In that case, welcome to Cobra Kai... _Rattler_.”

* * *

 

Back in Johnny’s office, Kate filled in the application forms in her quick handwriting. She also wrote a check.

“Here’s the down payment for the trimester and the parental permission. I think that’s everything.”

Johnny examined the form carefully. “Your husband will have to sign it too.”

“I’m a sole parent”, she answered in a firm voice, as if challenging him to ask further questions. He didn’t, and he seemed strangely distracted for a moment.

“So, can Rani start right away, or do I bring her tomorrow?” Kate asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Sure, we still have almost an hour of class left. You can leave Rattler here and come for her at six.”

The woman winced. “Are you really going to call her _that_?”

“She’s small, noisy and smart, like a rattlesnake. Problem?” he asked, defiant.

“None. I was just wondering if you have one of those little nicknames for absolutely everyone.”

“Yes.”

“And what would mine be?”

“Pretty eyes”, he said quickly. Too quickly.

Kate nodded, took two steps towards the door and then turned back on her heels.

“No. That’s not the real one. Goodbye, Mr. Lawrence.”

Without waiting for his reaction she headed out, her heels clicking rhythmically on the floor of the dojo. Johnny saw her say goodbye to her daughter and walk out the exit door.

He laughed to himself, muttering the answer nobody would hear.

“See you later, Miss Perky Ass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going away for the weekend, so chapter three won't arrive until later next week. I'm taking my notebook with me in case inspiration hits.


	3. Proposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny gets an offer of help from an unexpected source. Sam and Aisha have a long delayed conversation about friendship.

CHAPTER 3. PROPOSITION

 _Lawyers joke # 318:_ _  
__\- What are lawyers good for?_ _  
__\- They make used car salesmen look good_.

  
Like many former law students all across America, Kate Williams lived on coffee.

Well, not exclusively, of course; and in the almost two decades that had passed since graduating from Notre Dame she had tried to keep her addiction in check. But the truth was, she just wasn’t able to function without at least four cups a day. She had tried all the alternatives: decaf, and green tea, and all kinds of herbal substitutes, but she always ended surrendering and going back to her beloved caffeine.

After leaving Rani in class she had thought of doing a couple of errands; but as soon as she left the dojo the smell of freshly made espresso filled her nose, and she knew trying to leave was useless.

There were several other businesses on the strip mall: a pawn shop, a hair salon, a laundromat, a shabby mini-mart... and, a bit further away, the promised land: one small café with a cheerful pink sign that advertised ‘The best coffee and cupcakes in the Valley’. With firm steps she made a beeline for the nearest table.

It didn’t take too many people to fill up the café. There was a couple of teenagers hiding in a corner, holding hands (and other things) in front of a shared milkshake; next to the window three middle-aged ladies in flowery dresses sipped tea and ate cake while gossiping and laughing non-stop.

“Hi! Welcome to Café de France!”

The intonation of the voice sounded much closer to Texas than France. It belonged to a woman with grey hair and a friendly face, wearing a pink apron with so many ruffles and frills that it could almost stand on its own. She also wore a name tag, equally pink, that stated her name: Gladys.

“Today’s special are the vanilla bean cupcakes with mocha buttercream. Would you like to try one?”

“Yes, please. And coffee, black... No, make the coffee a double. I need an extra dose today.”

“Long day at the office, eh, honey?” asked Gladys with sympathy. “I don’t know how us working girls managed to get anything done before coffee was invented.”

Kate smiled. “First day at a new job, and my bosses have kept me on my toes all day. But I’ve revived a little just with the smell of your coffee. If it tastes half as good, I’m going to be a regular.”

The waitress went behind the bar and got busy with the espresso machine.

“I’ve never seen you around here. Do you live in the neighborhood?”

“I just moved here. And my daughter goes to karate next door, so I’ll have a very good excuse for coming here almost every day. Oh, thank you, Gladys.”

A delicious looking cupcake and a cup of steaming coffee were delicately set on Kate’s table.

“You’re welcome to wait for your girl here anytime you want, dear... Well, at least while I’m able to keep this place open.”

Kate took a sip of her coffee and let out a happy sigh.“Mmmm, this is really wonderful... But why are you closing? This place is lovely, there should be a line of people on the street waiting to get the best coffee in the Valley.”

“It’s not like I want to close, dearie... but since the owner of the mall doubled everybody’s rent a few months ago, I can barely make ends meet. I’ve been holding up so far, but last week I had to let my only employee go, and who knows if next month I won’t have to take the café somewhere else.”

A light went off in Kate’s mind. A _professional_ light, red and concentrated like a laser.

“Doubled? How’s that even possible? I thought this whole part of Reseda was rent controlled... at least for independently owned businesses. Just this morning I was reading about a similar case that happened a couple of blocks from here.”

Gladys looked at Kate as if she had started speaking Martian. “I don’t know jack about those things, honey. I just figured that if I worked hard enough I’d be able to keep the café open, but... We’ve already lost Mrs. Atkins the florist, and even Mr. Schwartz next door is thinking of closing the pawn shop and retiring. The only one who seems to be doing fine is Mr. Lawrence with his karate; and I’m thankful for that, the kids come here sometimes too.”

The teenage couple in the corner had finished their milkshake and made a pause in their makeout session; the boy called Gladys and ordered more sugary fuel for their young love.

Kate frowned, rattling her nails on the table. She got a notebook, a pen and her cell phone from the depths of her purse, and searched for a number on the City Hall webpage. With the phone pinned between her shoulder and her ear, she started scribbling furiously while she waited for someone to pick up.

Her double cup of espresso stayed beside her, forgotten, getting colder and colder as the minutes passed.

* * *

  
At exactly two minutes to six, Kate was back outside the glass walls of the dojo, looking in. All the kids were standing in orderly lines, throwing punches into the air in perfect unison, with Rani among them. The ceiling fans did very little to mitigate the heat; earlier that day Rani’s hair had been neatly pulled back in a braid, but now there were several wispy black strands sticking to her face and neck.

The girl looked happier than she had ever been in her short life.

Kate saw Sensei Lawrence bark an order, and the kids disbanded towards their changing rooms. Only then she went in again and made a beeline for the man in the black gi.

“Mr. Lawrence, do you have a minute?”

“Hello again. Sure, we can talk in the office.”

She followed him to the narrow room, and sat on the chair he was offering her.

“Having second thoughts already? I can give you your cheque back, but it would be a shame. Rattler has potential.”

She shook her head and smiled. “No, it has nothing to do with Rani… I’ve been observing her from outside and I can see she’s having a great time. Mr. Lawrence, do you know Gladys, the lady who owns the Café de France next door?”

“Yeah, of course. Coffee’s great there.”

“It’s fantastic. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” She took a deep breath before getting right to the point. “Gladys has told me that several months ago the owner of the strip mall doubled your rent… everybody’s rent. There’s a law in California called the Affordable Housing Act; it only got approved last year, and the existence of that law means that what your landlord did is illegal and can be reversed.”

“Reversed? How?”

She grabbed her notebook and opened it on the desk, trying to explain things as clearly as possible. “Well, you would have to sue him first. Not _you_ individually, it would be more effective if all the businesses in the mall were organized in a tenants association… which Gladys tells me you don’t have at the moment. But apart from that it all seems very straightforward. I spoke with the City’s Housing Authority fifteen minutes ago, they confirmed that this is a controlled rent area and that the strip mall was built before 1995, so it falls under the range of the Act. I wonder why nobody told you this earlier.”

“I don’t usually hang out with lawyers”, Johnny quipped.

“You mean you don’t like them.”

“Right.”

“Nobody likes lawyers. It’s a natural instinct... You know what they say, lawyers are only good for making used car salesmen look good.”

The joke was ancient, but Johnny couldn’t help letting out a bitter laugh. Used car salesmen, indeed. The woman had no way of knowing she had hit a nerve, and he still wasn’t sure of her intentions.

“To be honest, it sounds too good to be true.”

“Look, Mr. Lawrence–”

“Sensei”, he interrupted.

“Sorry?”

“While we’re at Cobra Kai, it’s _Sensei_ Lawrence. Or just Johnny, whatever. Just not Mr. Lawrence.”

“Okay”, she agreed with caution, not knowing which one of the two options would feel more natural. Her professional training didn’t really agree with any of them. “Okay, in that case... please call me Kate.”

“Fine. Listen... Kate: I don’t know shit about housing acts, or tenants associations. All I know is that the every time I’ve ran into a lawyer before it has ended badly. And every time someone offers me help out of the blue it ends up being a trick.”

He stared hard at the woman across the small desk, and she held his gaze for a few seconds. Then she smiled and leaned back on her chair.

“I apologize if I’m being overwhelming… it makes me mad when a landlord tries to take advantage like that. But the real reason, of course, is that I don’t want to lose Gladys and her great coffee. So yes, deep down my motivations are completely selfish.”

Johnny smiled, and this time it did reach his eyes. Trusting strangers was not in his nature, but the offer seemed genuine enough.

“So… I’m not saying I want to do this. But if I wanted to do this, what’s the next step?”

Kate got a business card out of her purse and slid it over the desk towards him. “The next step is you going home and thinking about it for a few days. And after that, if you want to go ahead, you can use your own lawyer, one you don’t dislike too much… or give me a call and we’ll start planning a lawsuit. We can agree on a percentage if we win… If we lose, it will cost you absolutely nothing.”

“You don’t want me to decide now? That doesn’t sound like any lawyer I know.”

“I’m giving you time to think. I’m giving you time to say no.”

“What if I say yes?”

She was taping her nails on the desk again, a thoughtless motion that came to her when she was nervous or excited.

 _Another rattler; noisy like her kid_ , thought Johnny.

“You can come to my office and we’ll go over all the details”, she explained. “Bring a copy of your lease, and the notice your landlord sent you when he raised the rent… I’ll need to know everything that you think is useful, everything that can help you win this. I know it’s hard to trust me because you have no idea who I am, but I’ll need the absolute truth. And in return I promise to do everything in my power to help all the businesses in this mall get their original rent back.”

“Help _me_ win this.”

“Of course. I’m only here to give you advice and deal with the judge. If the raise gets reversed, you’re the one who wins.”

Outside Johnny’s office, the kids had started to emerge from the locker rooms and they strolled towards the exit in small groups. Rani still hadn’t left Aisha’s side; they were both looking at something on the older girl’s phone, and laughing.

Kate got up when she heard her daughter’s voice. “Well, I’ll see you on Monday… _Sensei_ Lawrence. And don’t worry, I won’t mention the rent thing again unless you bring it up. If you ever do.”

She got out of the office and joined the two girls on their way out. They were the last ones to leave, and the dojo was once more empty and quiet. Johnny made a quick round through the place like he did every day after class, picking up things that the children lost or forgot: socks, water bottles, notes scribbled in wrinkled bits of paper. Another thing he didn’t understand of millenial kids: they were incredibly careless with their things.

“I think you should let her try, Sensei.”

Miguel’s head of black hair appeared through the locker room door, followed by the rest of him. Johnny managed (just in time) to look angry instead of startled.

“Why the hell are you still here, Diaz?”

“Sorry, Sensei. I didn’t mean to overhear… I dropped my keys behind a bench, and I’ve been trying to fish them out”, said the boy, showing Johnny the keychain he had just recovered. “Anyway, I heard what Rani’s mom said… and it made sense, sort of; at least the parts I could understand. Maybe it could be worth a try if it’s going to cost you nothing.”

“Of course it’s going to cost me. Just not money.”

“What do you mean?”

“I talked to the Topanga sensei the day of the tournament. Do you know who makes all the decisions over there? A fucking parent-teacher association! Moms and dads running the dojo and complaining every time a child goes home with a bruised eye or a bloody nose. If I let that woman fix the rent thing she’ll think I owe her and she’ll start poking her nose in my business. Well, fuck me if I let that happen in _my_ dojo. The last thing I need is that hot lawyer coming here with her airs and graces, doing charity to feel important.”

Miguel tried very hard to suppress a smile. “So… you think she’s hot?”

“Get out, Diaz.”

“I mean, she’s kinda pretty for a mom–”

“Out!”

Miguel was a clever kid who knew when to let things go. He grabbed his backpack and ran for the exit.

Johnny watched the boy get on his bike and locked the door. He went to his office, grabbed a beer from the mini fridge, changed his mind and put it in again before sitting with his head in his hands. He’d be damned if he gave that woman any kind of power over Cobra Kai, but, on the other hand… Fixing the rent would get him money for a new dummy. Or a couple more lockers for the girls’ changing room. And the Spinshot machine had started launching balls in unexpected directions, it would have to be repaired soon.

He also tried to think of the last time he’d had a conversation that wasn’t about karate. Or just any meaningful conversation with an adult. Well, apart from Miguel’s family. Or LaRusso. Or… Kreese.

Johnny shook his head to erase the memory of Kreese’s visit, searching for something else to replace it. His mind responded dutifully with a succession of very clear images of brown hair, red nails and black lashes. He hadn’t noticed before that her lashes were pitch black. Or how the intense heat had made her white shirt half transparent. Or the way she smelled, like coffee and… some flower or other. He grabbed Kate’s business card from the desk and ran a finger over the elegant navy lettering on the glossy cardboard.

 _Katharine B. Williams_ _  
_ _Attorney at Law_

He found himself wondering what the B stood for.

* * *

  
Later that day, on a different part of the city, Sam parked her BMW across the street from Aisha’s house and waited for ten minutes before deciding to get out. She hadn’t told the other girl she was coming. Or anyone else, for that matter; not even Robby, who was her (injured) shoulder of choice to cry on lately. Nobody would really understand it.

Things had ended on a good note for the two girls on the day of the tournament… but that had been before the Cobra Kai triumph, before her dad became even more riled up against the rival dojo, and since then they had only exchanged a couple of polite texts. Samantha didn’t really know if her friendship with Aisha would ever be the same again; things between them were too fragile, they had grown too far apart in just one year.

“Well, time to find out.”

Gathering all her courage, she crossed the street and pressed her finger to the doorbell several times. She was expecting Aisha’s mom to open the door, or even the Robinsons’ maid. She tried in vain to remember her name. Katrina, maybe...?

The memory exercise was useless in the end, because it was Aisha who opened the door and greeted her with a surprised smile.

“Sam? Hey.”

“Hey… may I come in? I know I didn’t tell you I was coming by, I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out… I can leave if it’s not a good moment.”

“Sure, let’s go to the back garden. My parents have been at the country club all day; they wanted me to go with them but it was too hot for the pool, so I stayed to catch up on some reading.” Aisha held a folded magazine in her hand. _Black Belt._ “Not the most exciting thing to do on a Friday night, but I like having the house for myself. Come in.”

There was a new air of determination in the bigger girl’s face, something Sam hadn’t seen before in her formerly shy friend. She grabbed a six-pack of Coke Zero from the refrigerator and practically pushed Sam towards the lounging chairs in the veranda.

“So… what were you reading?” asked Sam, trying to break the ice.

Aisha handed her the magazine. Several pages were dog-eared, and bits of text here and there were underlined.

“Sensei Lawrence gave it to me. There’s a very good article about traditional versus modern karate styles, and another one about a badass lady called Cynthia Rothrock who’s a master in several martial arts.”

“Cool.” Sam’s gaze stayed fixed on the glossy pictures, until the silence became too uncomfortable to bear.

“Sam, you’re not here to talk about karate magazines, right? What do you want?”

“I want my friend back”, she said, still with her eyes down. “I want to turn back time, erase everything that happened last year and just be friends again. Every day there’s a hundred things I want to tell you, silly things that I end up writing in my stupid online diary and then deleting them because I can’t share them with anybody else.”

When she lifted her head to look at Aisha, there was a hint of tears in the eyes of both girls.

“Last year happened, Sam. It had many good and many awful things in it...  but it definitely happened.”

“I told you at the tournament, but I’ll say it again: I’m sorry. About everything. Just tell me what will it take for you to forgive me, and if I have to climb up to the roof of our high school and shout to everybody that you’re my best friend in the world, I’ll do it”, she finished, holding her head up high.

Aisha stood up in front of Sam. “Forget about climbing roofs and just give me a hug, you idiot. I’ve missed you too.”

The girls hugged, and laughed, and then hugged some more. This time the tears remained uncried.

“So, is your dad cool with you being friends with a Cobra again?” asked Aisha, sipping her Diet Coke once they had resumed their position on the comfy chairs.

“Well… I still need to talk to him about that. He’s cool with you and me being friends, of course. He’s always been. But not really about the rest of them.”

“Yeah, but that nitpicking is never going to work. You can’t ask me to stop seeing my other friends, and if you hang out with me they’re going to appear at some point. What about Moon? She was your friend last year too, and now she’s one of us because she and Hawk are practically joined at the hip… You can’t have one without the other. And we have a new girl at the dojo, she’s only eight. Will you have to get permission from your dad before talking to her too? Who knows, she may be a deadly assassin in disguise”, Aisha joked.

“Of course not! God, eight years old… that’s how old I was when I quit karate. I bet she’s having a great time with you guys. I hope my dad can get a few more girls for Miyagi-Do, it will be fun training with more people.”

“She’s a true Cobra. A really tiny one.” Aisha braced herself before addressing the elephant in the room. “What are you going to do about Miguel? Have you talked to him?”

Samantha’s face fell.

“He texted me once, last week. Said he was sorry... but I haven’t answered him yet.”

“You not answering him that time last month was one of the things that caused the mess.”

 _The mess._ So the incident at the beach party even had a name of its own.

“I…” stammered Samantha.

Aisha let out an exasperated groan. “Look, Sam, I think you should tell Miguel that you don’t want to see him ever again. Put him out of his misery! Break his heart a little bit more that you already did, but don’t leave him hanging. Frankly, I’m getting so tired of hearing him pine for you all day, one day after another. I would bang his head against a wall if I thought it would help, but boys are so bullheaded I’m sure it wouldn't have any effect.”

“He’s been doing that? Pining?”

“Not in front of the others, or course.” Aisha looked at her friend, very serious. “Miguel is one of my best friends now, Sam. We were Sensei Lawrence’s first two students, when nobody gave a damn about Cobra Kai or about any of us… He’s worked harder than anybody else in our dojo, and he’s a great boy. I only like him as a friend, don’t start getting ideas. I just want you to see for yourself that deep down he hasn’t changed.”

Sam covered her eyes with her hands and let out a wistful sigh. “I liked Miguel the way he was before.”

“When Kyle was beating him up every other week, and you didn’t even know he existed? Yeah, that Miguel is not coming back”, confirmed Aisha. “The real Miguel is something between the pussy crybaby he was last year and the killing machine your dad thinks he is. And he’s a good guy.”

“I saw the killing machine at the tournament. He was scary.”

“Of course, silly! He was in combat mode, it’s a tournament! What’s going to happen next year if you and I have to fight against each other, Sam? Are we going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya on the mat?”

Samantha laughed so hard she almost fell off her chair. “That would leave everybody shocked! My dad would freak out so much.”

“And Sensei Lawrence would have a stroke, and the tournament would be cancelled. But that won’t be for almost another year, and meanwhile we have to go on with our lives, right? What are you going to do?”

There was a long pause before Sam finally agreed with herself on a decision.  

“Fine, I’ll talk to Miguel. But not to break his heart. I’d like a chance to be friends again. I’m not sure it will work after what happened at the… you know, the mess. But I’ll talk to him.”

Aisha nodded, but she didn’t seem convinced. “Just one more thing: If you’re going to rub your relationship with Keene in Miguel’s face, maybe it’s better if you just delete his number and forget all about him.”

This time Sam seemed genuinely surprised. “But… Robby and I, we’re not together. I just like him as a friend. He’s been hanging around my house a lot because he trains with my dad, but...”

“Does Keene think the same? I don’t have a lot of personal experience with guys, but being a wallflower leaves you a lot of free time for observing other people. I saw the way he looked at you at the beach, and at the tournament... I recognize the sad puppy eyes when I see them. Besides, he’s Sensei Lawrence’s son. Sensei dated like a hundred girls when he was in high school, or at least that’s what he tells us, so I bet he knew lots of tricks to attract girls. If genetics work… and they’re science, they _have_ to work... if Keene is anything like his dad, you shouldn’t trust him.”

“Ew, I don’t want to imagine old people dating.”

“That was a like million years ago, so… yeah.” Aisha seemed lost in thought for a moment. “There was a lady today at the dojo, the new girl’s mom. She’s pretty, and Sensei Lawrence kept staring at her when she left. Maybe he still has a trick or two up his sleeve now… Anyway, I would watch Keene if I was you.”

“I promise I’m going to make it very clear to Robby that we’re just friends”, answered Sam. “Hey, why don’t we order some pizza or something? It’s almost dinner time, and I don’t want to go home yet.”

Aisha grabbed her phone and opened the Grubhub app. “Do you want sushi? I know you love it, and we need something special to celebrate our friendship.”

“Sounds fantastic. Especially the friendship part”, added Sam with a big smile.

Aisha fumbled with her phone a bit longer. “Done! One big tray of celebratory sushi on its way, with lots of rainbow rolls because they’re your favorite. And mine.”

They reclined on the chairs again, enjoying the unexpected cool breeze. The setting sun blazed down on the well tended grass, and a solitary bee flew a complicated dance around the two girls before disappearing towards the sky.

“Aisha?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you think dating and… and boys’ stuff gets easier when you’re an adult?”

“Yeah. It has to. I’m absolutely sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is supposed to be centered in Johnny and Kate, and I'm really happy to see how their storyline works, but it's also great to imagine scenarios about the younger generation. The conversation between Aisha and Sam was a lot of fun to write.
> 
> Legal mini-rant: The Affordable Housing Act is an actual citizens initiative that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act in California and make homes more affordable for lots of people affected by the skyrocketing rents. The real Act hasn’t been approved yet (you can look it up online), and even if it gets approved in the future it will only affect homes, not businesses. I had to make a couple of tweaks so it would be useful for my story, and I pinky promise not to drag the legal things across a thousand chapters. End of mini-rant.


	4. Scheme

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miguel deals with an uncomfortable truth. Robby starts training at the new and improved Miyagi-Do. Johnny makes a decision.

CHAPTER 4 - SCHEME

_‘Hey Mig. Didn’t see you at the beach on Saturday. Or yesterday in the park. You ok?’_

_‘Yeah, fine. I didn’t feel like going out this weekend. What’s up?’_

Sprawled on the bed, Miguel stared at the screen of his phone and blinked several times. Aisha was usually the fastest texter in the world, but this time it was taking her ages.

_‘I spoke to Sam on Friday. Maybe it’s a good moment to apologize again.’_

_‘What’s the point? She hates me.’_

_‘Just text her and grovel a little. Good moment, trust me and stop asking questions.’_

_‘Cobras don’t grovel.’_

_‘Cobras don’t get second chances either. Not saying you’ll get one for sure, but you should try. She doesn’t hate you too much now. But hey, it’s up to you.’_

_‘Thanks. You’re a friend.’_

_‘Remember. GROVEL.’_

_‘Fine. See you later at the dojo.’_

It wasn’t a long message in the end, but it took him more than half an hour to write it. He moved from the bed to his desk and from there to the floor several times, typing and deleting and deleting and typing. After six or seven false starts he managed to type something that sounded more or less like the words in his head.

_‘Hi Sam. I don’t know if you’ll even read this or if you’ve blocked me. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. About the mess at the beach, and about what I said at the tournament.’_

He hit ‘send’, and gathered his courage for the second part.

_‘Can I see you and apologize in person? Can we talk? Please, I can’t even think of not seeing you all Summer. Please.’_

After adding the second (and almost desperate) _please_ he hit ‘send’ again, and turned off his phone with the firm intent of not turning it on again for several hours. He didn’t want to spend the afternoon checking his messages every minute, wondering if she had read it. Or if she would even answer. Throwing the phone into the bottom of his backpack he grabbed his training gi, put on his sneakers and ran for the door.

His grandmother was in the kitchen, doing the dishes from lunch.

“Adónde vas corriendo?”

“To the dojo, Yaya. I need to train.”

“Ay, mijo, you train too much. You already won the trophy, remember?”

He smiled and hugged the old woman. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back for dinner. Bye, Yaya!”

“Adiós, mi amor.”

It was early, way too early for class, but Miguel needed to do something other than laying in bed listening to sappy eighties rock ballads, like he’d done all weekend. Pedaling furiously, he made it to Cobra Kai in three minutes instead of the usual five.

He had planned to spend some time at the café while he waited for everybody to arrive, but the dojo was surprisingly open. From the entrance he saw Sensei Lawrence in the office, his desk covered in a mountain of important looking (and very disorganized) papers. Miguel sneaked in, walking in complete silence; an idea was forming in his mind, and he hoped it wasn’t a bad moment to interrupt…. whatever he was interrupting. He also hoped to find his Sensei in a good mood, and that was quite a long shot.

“What are you doing here so early?” Johnny huffed. “When I was your age we knew what to do with our Summer days. Is the beach closed or what?”

“It’s too hot for the beach”, answered Miguel with a grimace. “I thought I could practise some punching with the dummy until the others are here.”

“Fine. I’ll train with you when I’ve finished putting this stupid lease papers in order.”

Miguel stayed there for a long moment. He felt like his legs had turned to stone… but he had already faced one of his fears that day, why not two?

_Strike first._

“Did you start training me only because Keene said no?”

Johnny froze. He left the papers on the desk and looked at the boy. Miguel stood proud, self-righteous and angry, just like he had taught him. An image flashed in Johnny’s mind, a blurred picture of that same boy a year earlier, the awkward shy kid who seemed entirely different from the person in front of him.

He stood up, grabbed two beers from the mini fridge and offered one to Miguel.

The boy shook his head. “The last time I drank I ended up doing something stupid.”

He hadn’t stopped staring daggers at Johnny, challenging him. Daring him to deny him an answer.

Johnny left one bottle of Coors back in place, grabbed a can of soda and threw it into Miguel’s hands. Then he walked out of the office and sat on one corner of the mat. The ceiling fans were on, and it was marginally cooler there than in the stuffy office.

He waited until Miguel sat next to him, opened the beer bottle and drank almost half of it. His throat remained dry.

“I started training you because you needed to be trained. Because you needed to become what you are now.” He had spoken with his eyes closed. When he finally looked at Miguel, the boy seemed slightly less angry, but still confused as hell.

“I only found out that LaRusso was teaching karate to Robby the day before the tournament. Before that, he never showed interest in martial arts. When I started teaching you I had never trained anybody else. Before that… I hadn’t set foot in a dojo in thirty-four years.”

Miguel’s expression darkened. “Since your tournament.”

“Yeah.”

“You quit because you lost?” he asked, indignant, with a hint of contempt seeping from his voice like poison.

Johnny started laughing. It wasn’t a merry laugh. He finished his beer before gathering the strength to look at his student again.

“I quit because the night of the tournament my Sensei tried to kill me for losing.”

“I... I didn’t know that”, was the almost inaudible answer.

“Of course you didn’t. I couldn’t tell that to a bunch of children. But you’re not a child anymore... right, Diaz? You come to me demanding an explanation, and you deserve to get one.”

The Coors bottle made a loud ‘clink’ when he left it on the floor.

“I didn’t know Robby was going to enter the tournament, I saw him there on the same moment everybody else did. I didn’t know he had been working at LaRusso’s dealership for months.” Johnny's voice sounded hoarse and jaded, and it almost broke with his next sentence. “I didn’t know that... that Daniel LaRusso was driving my son away from me. Not that we were very close before, anyway.”

A dark red blush appeared on Miguel’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Sensei.”

“Sorry doesn’t fix shit. But it’s not your fault, Diaz.”

“You could have told me at the tournament. You know, before the finals.”

“And what would you have done differently? Would you have thrown the match and let Robby win?”

The boy hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“Yeah”, muttered Johnny. “And that’s why I didn’t fucking tell you. It wouldn’t have been fair, to any of you.”

“But I hurt him! You told me not to fight dirty and I ignored it.”

“No, Hawk hurt him. You only took advantage of an injury. People do that all the time in sports competitions, even the professionals do it.”

Miguel sighed, took a long drink from his soda, and let his head fall between his shoulders.

“Hawk doesn’t know who Keene really is. Sam told Aisha, and Aisha told only me. She asked me not to say anything to the others until… until I talked to you.”

“Good. Keep it that way.”

“But, Sensei...”

Johnny picked up his empty bottle and stood up, putting an end to the conversation. He strolled towards his office, changed his mind and turned around before reaching the door. Once more he looked at Miguel, who remained in the same position. Strangely enough, from where he stood, the kid looked like a little boy again; exactly like a year before.

“I’m proud of you. You know that, right, Diaz?”

The boy raised his head. He felt like he was about to cry, and to force back the tears he bit his lip hard until he almost tasted blood.

“Yes, Sensei.”

“Good. Now stop slacking, get off your lazy ass and start hitting that dummy.”

“Yes, Sensei.”

* * *

 

“Remember to do everything Aunt Lola tells you, and to help her look after your cousins, sweetie. I’ll pick you up and take you to the dojo after work, okay? I love you. Yes, Kevin is here. He says he loves you too, very much. Bye, sweetie.”

Kate laughed at the enthusiastic answer and hung up the phone. Sitting opposite her, her friend Kevin leafed through a thick portfolio, while keeping an ear on the mother-daughter conversation.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Kev. My sister-in-law is being an absolute angel babysitting Rani, I was just checking that everything is all right.” She looked at the stack of papers in her partner’s hands. “So, did you have a chance to look at the case?”

“Oh, I did a bit more than look, and I’m happy to tell you that I have good news... and even better news on your little Victory Boulevard strip mall.”

“I’m listening.”

“I took it to the Board of Directors first thing this morning. The Affordable Housing Act has given us a sizeable amount of business so far, and this is a textbook example of something we can win before the judge even gets to the argument section. Besides, the mall owner Mr. Zarkarian is an old acquaintance of this firm. Rent abuse seems to be his favorite sport, last year we won several cases against him.”

Kate took a sip of her coffee with an impish smile. “Brilliant! Was that the good news or the better ones?”

“The best part comes now, and you’re going to love it: the Board thinks this is practically a case of public interest. You know, helping new businesses in an economically depressed part of the city, and all that. They want to take the case pro bono.”

“Oh, no. No, I’m not sure that’s a good idea”, answered Kate, looking suddenly worried. “Lawrence is a proud man. He’ll never want our help if he sees it as charity. We still need him to form the tenants association, and I think I’ve got him about ninety per cent convinced… but he’s not going to accept a handout.”

Kevin played with the tip of his flowery tie. “Well... if you’re absolutely sure, I’ll talk to our bosses again and tell them to take it out of the pro bono list. But seriously, what kind of man would reject free help? Especially if it’s in the interest of the community?”

Kate sighed and finished her coffee without enthusiasm. She considered the possibilities in silence for a moment.

“Wait until I talk to him again and see if he’s with us or not. If he says yes, there will be time to go over the money details. I’ll tell him it’s an easy case to win, and… fingers crossed that he doesn’t get offended.”

“Easy? Kate, it’s the proverbial piece of cake.” Kevin searched through the documents until he found the list of tenants that his friend had compiled during the weekend. “Just look at this. Why didn’t you start by telling me there’s an old florist lady at the strip mall? This will melt the heart of the hardest judge! The whole Board was practically salivating thinking of the good publicity this case can bring, that’s why they agreed to take it for free.”

“There _was_ an old florist lady; she had to leave last month because she couldn’t afford the rent.”

“That’s even better. Let’s get her on the stand and ask for punitive damages.” A radiant smile appeared in Kevin’s handsome Black face, a smile that Kate knew very well. It always reminded her of a cat about to pounce on a poor unfortunate mouse; when it came to the Law, Kevin McMichaels was nothing but ruthless.

“I’m not doing this for the publicity, Kev, I just want to help that man. You should have seen those kids’ faces… you should have seen Rani’s face while she was training the other day. That girl Aisha told me that Lawrence opened the dojo less than a year ago, starting from nothing, with only one student; and he’s doing wonders with it.”

“Speaking of your heroic and proud Mr. Lawrence… What’s he like? We usually wait until the clients come to us in need of our services, but it sounds like you’re having to use your powers of persuasion with this one.”

“Well, it varies from moment to moment. He doesn’t like lawyers, he left that crystal clear the other day.”

“Nobody likes lawyers, Katey. Remember that thing I always say about lawyers and car salesmen?” Kevin laughed, as proud of the awful joke as if he had invented it himself.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I told Lawrence. He needs our help, but I’m having a hard time getting him to open up... let’s just say he’s not the trustful type.”

“Would he trust you more if you wore a short skirt for your next interview, instead of those pants that make you look like Diane Keaton in Annie Hall?” asked her friend, raising an eyebrow.

“How dare you”, she quipped. “There’s also an old saying that lawyers are essentially hookers, but I’m not in the business of getting clients by putting my assets on display, thankyouverymuch. Especially not... not him.”

Kevin examined his friend’s face closely and narrowed his eyes. “It was just a joke... and you usually laugh with my jokes, but this time you doth protest too much, lady. I’m starting to think you like that man.”

“I don’t like him... I _can’t_ like him, he’s a prospective client. We have an Ethics Code here, it’s plastered in black and white all over the corporate website.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just thinking you could kill two birds with one stone and get some action. Before I moved here we used to tell each other everything about boyfriends and stuff... and you haven’t mentioned one in ages, Katey. How long have you been on dry dock?”

Kate squirmed in her chair, uncomfortable with the question… or maybe with the answer.

“There has been nothing to write home about for… well, a while. I’m focused on being a mom, so I don’t have a lot of time for dates. And of course the last couple of men I dated ran for the hills as soon as I mentioned Rani’s existence. Besides, I don’t think Johnny–”

“Ah, he’s _Johnny_ now”, retorted his friend with another one of his wicked smiles. “Good to see you’re on a first name basis already. And, just so you know, nobody really pays any attention to the Ethics Code. At least not to the part about… let’s call them client affairs.”

“Kevin McMichaels, you are a horrible, horrible friend.”

“The worst. And you love me for that.”

* * *

 

Meanwhile, at Miyagi-Do, the new air conditioning system was working like a dream. A soft cool breeze crossed the room every few seconds, making the two people in the dojo forget all about the scorching heat outside. It was so hot in the garden that some plants were already withering, despite Daniel’s constant efforts to keep the greenery in shape.

Daniel picked the doctor’s notice from Robby’s hand and read it in silence several times. It was full of complicated medical terms and general health recommendations, but the basics were quite clear. He folded up the piece of paper and gave it back to the boy.

“So, can I start training again?”

“Look, I know the doctor says your shoulder is healed, but… you’re more than your injury, Robby. The important thing here is, how do you feel?”

“The shoulder’s not bothering me anymore”, was the evasive answer.

“That wasn’t the question.”

“Look, Mr. LaRusso… I’m fine. But I need to train or I’ll go nuts cooped up at home. My Mom is… she just broke up with a dude, and she’s not in the best mood. I want to give her some space.”

Daniel raised his hands in silent defeat. “Okay. Go get changed, we’ll start with some light kata practice. I don’t want you pushing yourself too hard for a few days, understood?”

The boy nodded and dragged his feet towards the other room. Daniel sighed, rubbing his temples. Dealing with Robby’s anger issues had been a challenge at first, but he preferred that a hundred times to the downcast, defeated teenager he’d been since the tournament.

The door of the dojo opened with a swooshing sound, giving way to another teenager who looked only marginally happier than Robby.

“Hi Dad”, muttered Samantha, with her eyes fixed on her smartphone. The girl was already in her gi, but her mind seemed a thousand miles away.

Daniel rolled his eyes. Two Debbie Downers out of two. It was the brightest Summer day in the Valley, but the atmosphere in the dojo resembled a funeral home. He put a comforting hand on his daughter’s shoulder, trying very hard not to take a peek at the screen of her phone.

“Trouble with Aisha, honey? I thought you two had patched things up... Look, why don’t you invite her to train here one of these days? Just the two of you, a little mano a mano between friends. I promise I won’t try to recruit her... I won’t even show up if you think she’ll feel uncomfortable.”

Sam looked at Daniel and gave him a sympathetic smile. As clueless as her dad was, at least he tried really hard when he wanted to.

“Thanks, Dad. I don’t think Aisha is ready for that yet, but I’ll talk to her. And yes, we’re fine now…You know, I was thinking of asking her to come for dinner tonight.”

“Fantastic! I have a new salmon tataki recipe I’ve been wanting to try. You’re going to love it.”

Sam’s eyebrows knotted up. “But there’s one topic of conversation that’s absolutely banned while Aisha is here. I’m inviting her to dinner... not to a lecture about her dojo, or her Sensei. Please.”

Daniel put a hand over his heart. “I swear I won’t even go near that topic; you can give me and your mother a list of preapproved things to talk about during dinner. I’m even ready to do the utmost sacrifice and discuss Justin Bieber with you guys.”

“No, Dad, I know you’ll behave… and we don’t like Justin Bieber anymore, so you have one less thing to worry about.” She left her purse on a bench and took off her shoes. “Is it only us again? I thought Robby was going to the doctor this morning.”

“He’s here. His shoulder is healed”, Daniel answered, still not completely convinced.

As if responding to the mention of his name, the boy showed up. “Hey, Sam.”

Sam observed him carefully. The kicked puppy eyes were definitely there.

“Hi, Robby. I’m glad you’re feeling better, it was so boring training by myself.” She turned to Daniel, who had already assumed his usual position in front of the class. “Are we doing kata today?”

“Exactly. Nothing too demanding, just follow me. And, Robby… if you feel any discomfort I want you to stop immediately, do you hear me? Take all the time you need.”

“Yes, Mr. LaRusso.”

Daniel started going through the kata in silence, using the exercise to clear his mind from all the stress and the worries of his day-to-day life. The truth was, he needed the training… and the peace it gave him, as much as Robby and Sam did. Maybe even more.

He corrected Robby’s moves once or twice, but for a good part of an hour nobody spoke. Daniel’s eyes were fixed on the farthest wall, right at the point where he had just put up a new picture with some inspirational words he hoped would encourage his students. All his students, even his future ones.

_Kata is the soul of Karate. Without Kata, training is not Karate at all._

When the clock on the wall struck three, Daniel gave his two students a proud smile.

“Good job. Let’s take a break… fifteen minutes. I have to call Mom, she said she would manage alone at the dealership today but I’m already feeling guilty. We’re extremely short-staffed without you around, Robby. Amanda will be happy to see you back.”

Robby nodded, smiled and sat down on the tatami. He checked his shoulder with caution, but there was no pain, nothing apart from a bit of tension due to the lack of exercise. Grabbing his backpack, he checked his phone, but the only thing on the screen was a missed call notice; the same he had seen that morning.

_Dad._

He never texted, of course, and he only tried calling once a day. Practically every other day. Dodging his calls hadn’t been exactly intentional, but Robby never found himself in the right state of mind to call him back.

With a heavy sigh, he left his phone in his bag again and turned to Sam, who also happened to be glued to her smartphone. She typed a couple of words, deleted them, typed again, deleted everything and put the phone back in her purse with an impatient huff.

“Everything alright, Sam?”

“Yes, I’m only answering a text… trying to answer a text. Do you ever have one of those days when everything you type just sounds weird?”

“Yeah, of course. You know, you could try talking instead.”

“No, not for this.” She looked at the boy, making a long pause before speaking again. “Are you my friend, Robby?”

“Sorry, what?” The question was plain and direct. Too plain.

“You heard me. Are we friends?”

This time the answer was a hopeful smile. And the puppy eyes again.

“Of course! Sam, if there’s something you need me to do, just tell me what it is and I’ll–”

“No”, she interrupted him. “No, forget I asked. Look, I’ve invited Aisha to dinner tonight. I know she’s a Cobra Kai and it may not be the best idea to put you two in the same room, but… she’s my best friend, and we’ve just kind of revived our dying friendship after a very shitty year. I’m just telling you so you can leave if it makes you uncomfortable, but I’d really appreciate it if you stayed and met her properly. Your choice.”

Robby’s smile was replaced by a worried look. “Do you think she’ll be okay with that?”

“I just want to have two of my friends in the same place for once, without anyone fighting, without feeling like I’m walking on a tightrope! I’m tired of having to choose between friends as if every day was some kind of competition.” She lowered her voice to a weary whisper. “Because that’s what I really need at this point, Robby, real friends. Nothing less... and especially nothing more.”

The boy nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Count me in for tonight.”

“Good.”

The fifteen minutes had flown, and Daniel was already making his way into the dojo again.

“Ready for the second round, everyone?”

Samantha stood up and assumed a fighting stance, and Robby did the same a second later. Daniel looked at his students with pride; maybe there were only two of them so far, but he wouldn’t change them for anybody else.

* * *

 

Johnny saw her outside, standing on the sidewalk with her back turned towards the glass door of Cobra Kai. A completely still silhouette in a fitted green dress that reached just above her knee; no silly pants this time. He couldn’t see much of her legs... but it was nice to finally know she _had_ legs.

Rattler had gone into the dojo alone, running like always. The girl was completely unable to stand still, except when all the kids fell in line and she stood in the middle of them, upright like a little soldier. She ran by him with a quick ‘hi, Sensei’, and Johnny didn’t even have a chance to ask if Kate was with her.

But there she was, right at his door. With her preppy airs and her tight green dress and her legs.

She checked her watch once and started to walk away, and Johnny stepped out to follow her.

“Scared to go inside, Kate?”

“It’s a nest full of cobras, any sane person would be scared”, she answered, turning towards him. “But I said I’d give you time and space to think, remember? I'm just keeping my word.”

“Yeah, I’ve had enough time. The longer I wait, the more money I lose every month. Let’s do it.”

Her right eyebrow arched in mild surprise. “Okay, then... we have a case. I talked to one of my associates this morning, and he thinks it will be easy to win. You can come to my office one of these days and we’ll start planning everything; this is going to be my first civil case in Los Angeles, and I don’t want to leave it to chance.”

Johnny hesitated. A lawyer’s office wasn’t exactly his favorite place to be.

“Exactly how easy are we talking about? I don’t want any surprises.”

She grinned, with the air of sufficiency of the girl who knew all the answers in class.

“What I didn’t tell you the other day, because I didn’t know it myself, was that some of my colleagues are very familiar with Armand Zarkarian. Last year my firm won a couple of cases against him for illegal eviction, and he’s got another pending case for a poorly maintained apartment building in North Hills. Turns out your landlord is a real piece of work.”

“Bastard”, Johnny grunted. “But this wasn’t his idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“Somebody tricked him to do it, to force me to close Cobra Kai.” He made a long pause, as if deciding if it was worth telling her. “I don’t have any proof, but the man behind the whole rent thing was Daniel LaRusso.”

Kate narrowed her eyes and tried to think. “I’ve heard that name before. No, wait. I’ve… I’ve _seen_ that name before. Who’s Daniel LaRusso?”

“Look over there.”

Her eyes followed the motion of Johnny’s arm, towards the row of advertisement signs on the other side of the road.

“The man with his leg sticking out of that billboard conspired with Zarkarian to ruin your business?”

“Right.”

A half-smile danced on Kate’s lips for a second. She looked at Johnny again, saw the fire in his eyes and decided it wasn’t a joke.

“I have the feeling that this is going to be a long story.”

“You have no idea how long.”

It was hot on the street, even hotter than the previous week. Kate felt suddenly flustered, maybe because they were standing in the sun… or maybe it was something else, something she couldn’t put her finger on. She brushed her hand across the back of her neck, took a deep breath and made a decision.

“Can you be at my office tomorrow at nine? The address is in the card I gave you.”

“I’ll be there. Thank you, Kate.”

Johnny offered her a firm handshake; a handshake that lasted a second more than necessary and made her feel like that time in high school when a hot senior boy had called her ‘darling’. She took a step back, retreating towards her car without taking her eyes off the man in the black gi.

“Goodbye… Johnny. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He heard the slight quivering in her voice and went back into the dojo, smiling to himself.

It had been a very long time since the last time he’d made a woman shiver.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that was long! Sorry, but I had to include many things in this chapter and I didn't feel like cutting any of the scenes. I especially had a blast writing that conversation between Miguel and Johnny. It was hard to get them talking, at first, but Miggy is my precious cinnamon roll and I needed to give him a proper scene.  
> Thank you all for the love and the reviews, especially the LawRusso shippers who are giving a chance to something that's not entirely their cup of tea. This fandom is the best.


	5. Eloquence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate gets a visit at the office and learns a couple of uncomfortable truths. Miguel goes to the café for a milkshake and some humble pie.

CHAPTER 5 - ELOQUENCE

 _Eloquence: 1. discourse marked by force and persuasiveness. Also, the art or power of using such discourse._ _  
_ _2\. also, collective noun: an eloquence of lawyers._

The phone on Kate’s desk rang only once before she hurried to get it. It was exactly ten minutes to nine; she had been checking the time once and again. Not that she was anxious or anything like that... she just liked to be prepared when she faced a new case. At least, that’s what she had been telling herself since she’d arrived at the office at eight.

She picked up the phone and cleared her throat.

“Hello, Sally.”

“Good morning, Kate. There’s a Mr... Lawrence here to see you”, sounded the slightly patronizing voice of her secretary. “You have him scheduled for nine, shall I tell him to wait?”  

“Send him in, please. Oh, and bring us some coffee.”

She smoothed out the front of her dress and waited until the door opened and Johnny came in.

“Good morning”, Kate greeted him with a friendly smile.

It suddenly dawned on her that it was the first time she saw him in street clothes instead of his black gi. He wore jeans and a dark red Henley, nothing outrageous… but in the suited-up atmosphere of the Powell and Morgan offices, any man in casual clothes stuck out like a sore thumb.

He took a look around him and whistled. “Nice cave you have here.”

“The perks of being in a new building with lots of room to spare. You should see my boss’s office, it’s like a football field. But please, sit down. I’ve asked Sally to bring us some coffee, so we can start going over your case.”

He left his briefcase on the floor and took a seat. “A bit snooty, your secretary. I think she doesn’t like me.”

“Oh, she’s new, don’t worry. Anybody who’s not wearing Armani is not human to her.”

As if responding to a silent call, the aforementioned secretary appeared, carrying a tray with coffee and a plate of cookies. She left it on a side table without even looking at Johnny.

“Will there be anything else, Miss Williams?”

“No, thank you, Sally. Please hold my calls for a couple of hours.”

“Thanks, doll”, Johnny clipped. Sally’s lips pursed in an arrogant pout, and Kate had to cover her mouth with her hand to avoid laughing.

“That was mean”, she said when the secretary left. “Now she’s going to hate you forever, poor girl. So… did you bring a copy of your lease documents?”

Johnny opened the briefcase and took out an assortment of papers. Kate spread them out on the desk and started leafing through several of them at the same time.

“Okay, the rental agreement looks fine… Blueprint of the premises, good. Conditions, pretty standard… Ah, here’s the part we don’t like. Notice of rent increase and modifications of the lease conditions. Let me see...” She frowned and kept reading in silence while Johnny fretted in his chair, hoping for good news but expecting bad ones.    

She finally lifted her eyes off the lease papers, and Johnny raised an eyebrow.

“Well?”

“Well, indeed! This rent increase goes straight against half a dozen sections of the Affordable Housing Act; there’s absolutely nothing in here that is legal, we could drive to court tomorrow and win this without even getting out of the car.” She got up, reached for the coffee tray and brought it to her desk. “It won’t be that fast, of course. Last year the state of California created a special court branch for cases like this, so if we’re lucky we can have this solved in one or two months. If not, well… six months could be a good estimate. Fingers crossed.”

Johnny nodded, still not completely sure. “Is there anything I can do to speed things up?”

“Oh, you’ve done more than enough already. All the other businesses in the tenants association have already agreed to give me power of attorney to represent them. How did you get all of them to say yes on the first try? Some people don’t want anything to do with lawyers, even if it’s for their own good.”

“I talked to Gladys first”, answered Johnny with a crooked smile. “She made sure all the others signed in, don’t ask me how. I think she offered them free cupcakes for a year or something like that.”

“Oh, that woman is a force of nature.” She put aside the papers and reached for her cup of coffee, adding lots of sugar but no milk. Johnny did the same, but with milk and no sugar.

“Now is when this meeting becomes potentially boring for you”, continued Kate. “I’m going to explain the whole process in detail, so you’re well informed of all the steps we’re going to take. You’ve probably seen many criminal cases on television; civil cases are a little bit different and not that exciting. But first… yesterday you were telling me something about that LaRusso guy, the one who sells cars? I’ve noticed there’s publicity of his dealership pretty much everywhere, but I don’t see the point where his business and yours collide.”

Johnny left his coffee on the desk and tensed up.

“You don’t see it because it’s not business, Kate. This is personal. It has been personal for thirty-four years.”

She put her elbows on the desk and looked him right in the eye.

“I’m listening.”

* * *

 

There were only two types of milkshakes that Miguel Diaz ever ordered at the Café the France. And Gladys, the devoted owner, could guess which one the boy would want just by looking at his face. On a good day, it was strawberry yogurt. On a bad day, when the kid was moody and downcast, he always fell into the sweet embrace of dark chocolate and cherries.

There had been a lot of chocolate and cherries milkshakes in Miguel’s life for the last few weeks. And, as soon as the woman saw him cross the door of the café, she started making him one of those. With extra cherries.

The boy sat at his usual table, alone and practically glued to his phone. That was normal. No, the unusual bit was him looking at the door every thirty seconds. Gladys greeted him with a smile and placed the milkshake on the table, and Miguel reached for it like a dying cowboy gripping his last shot of whiskey.

“Thanks, Gladys”, he muttered, with his nose buried in the screen again.

“Are you expecting company today, sweetheart?” she asked in a kind voice.

The boy lifted his black eyes towards her with a pitiful stare. “I’m not sure.”

The woman gave him another compassionate smile and returned to the little kitchen at the back of the café. She didn’t hear the door open again, nor did she see the pretty brunette girl who came in and sat in front of Miguel with a stern look on her face.

“Well, here I am”, said the girl. “You better make it quick, I have lunch with my mom in less than an hour.”

“Hi, Sam.”

The boy’s voice sounded so dejected that Sam’s heart skipped a beat, and she hated herself for that. He cleared his throat a couple of times before trying to speak again.

“I… I don’t know how to start. I guess the first thing I should say is that I’m sorry. Again.”

“Yeah, you already said it in your message. And at the tournament, before becoming some kind of Terminator. I’m going to need more than that.” She willed her voice not to shake with a heroic effort.

“Sam, I know I fucked up. Excuse the language, but there’s no other word. What we had was… something really special, and I fucked up because I was jealous, because I thought you were ashamed of me.”

“Ashamed of you? God, Miguel, what could possibly make me be ashamed of–?”

“Hello, sweetheart, and welcome to the Café de France!” chirped Gladys’s voice all of a sudden, excited at the sight of her favorite sad boy finally sharing his time with a girl. “My name’s Gladys. Would you like some Italian coffee, or maybe a milkshake?”

Sam stared at the woman with furtive curiosity. She looked like the waitress from Grease, if you squinted, only with more pink frills adorning her apron.

“I’ll have a cappuccino, please. Thank you.”

“Of course, dear.”

When she was sure the waitress couldn’t hear her, she turned to Miguel again.

“Ashamed. Really?” her voice sounded extremely irritated and shrill, and she put her hands in her lap to hide the fact that they had started shaking. “When did I ever give you a reason, any reason, to think that?”

“I read all the cues the wrong way. I didn’t want to mistrust you, but… you lied to your parents about me, right? Said I was just your lab partner.” He still sounded apologetic, but his pride moved him to defend his actions. “I told you my Mom and my Yaya wanted to meet you, but you never accepted the invitation. Then I went to your house one night and… I saw Keene having dinner with you.”

Sam let out an exasperated huff. “What you think you saw and what you _really_ saw are two different things. I didn’t invite Robby to dinner, my Dad did. A family dinner. What was I supposed to do, be rude to everybody and eat alone in my room because of what my jealous boyfriend would think?”

“No, of course not. I…”, he answered between gritted teeth.

“And can you please explain the _ashamed_ part?” she interrupted. “Because that’s something I really can’t get my head around. Ashamed of what?”

“Of where I live. Of how poor I am. Ashamed of…” he saw one of Sam’s pale hands resting on the table, and he planted his own tawny hand beside it. “Of this, Sam. Don’t you see it?”

She moved her hand a fraction of an inch, towards his, so that their fingers were barely touching.

“I see it perfectly clear, but I never thought it would be an obstacle between us.” Her voice softened, as if the barely there skin contact had awoken something in her. “You really feel I’m so superficial?”

“No, of course not”, he said, shaking his head. “But your parents don’t think the same. You said your dad was right about Cobra Kai, you believed all the bad things he said about me and my Sensei. You thought my dojo was like the source of all evil or something. I want to prove to you that’s not true.”

“I know what I saw at the tournament, Miguel. You were so… so angry and ruthless. You scared me. And I know you were not like that before, can’t you see how your Sensei has changed you?”

“I changed because I needed to change”, he insisted, without much conviction. “Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hard on Keene at the tournament. I swear I didn’t realize he was so badly injured until the third point. But… but if I had been injured instead, he could have taken advantage of that and nobody would have thought less of him, right?”

“Didn’t your Sensei tell Eli to injure Robby at the semifinals?”

“Of course not!” he said, indignant. “Look, Sam… Hawk is out of control. He’s been acting up for weeks, even before the tournament. But Sensei Lawrence would never tell him to fight without honor. Never. What Hawk did to Keene was disgraceful.”

Sam sipped her cappuccino and stared at Miguel, trying to read his intentions.

“Are you okay with being nice to Robby now that you won? Is that it? Some kind of… sick sense of superiority?”

Miguel bit her lip, doubtful. “If it means so much to you, I’ll apologize to Keene. I’ll even try to become friends with him… I don’t like him, and I think I’ll never like him. But for you, I’ll do it. Even if it kills me inside.”

He looked directly in the girl’s eyes, hoping his overly dramatic words sounded as sincere as he felt them, and Sam's defenses began to crumble under that look.

“Miguel, I don’t believe Cobra Kai is the source of all evil. My Dad’s issues are not my own. I still don’t like that you train there, but... if I’m cool with Aisha being a Cobra, and with Moon dating Eli, I should be fair and be cool with you too.” She took a deep breath and continued. “I won’t force you to be friends with Robby, or with anyone else. He’s my friend, and now we train together at my Dad’s dojo... and that’s all there is between Robby and me. I can’t make you trust me or believe me, but I’d really appreciate it if you did.”

“I trust you”, he whispered. “I won’t doubt you again, Sam. I just want to go back to what we had before.”

“You understand it will take time for me trust _you_ again, right? Last year I trusted too many people, and I got hurt too many times.” The boy still hadn’t moved his hand from the tabletop, and she brushed her fingertips against his. “It would be so easy for me to go back to before… but I can’t. I’ve decided not to date anyone for the rest of the Summer. These months are for myself, my training and my friends. I need to keep my head clear, and that means I can’t give you what you want.”

Her voice was firm and confident, and Miguel knew this time no amount of asking or begging would make her change her mind.

“I can live with that. We’ll hang out with Aisha and the others, like we did last year. I swear I won’t ask you to be more than a friend this time, Sam. I won’t disrespect you like that unless you tell me you want something more.”

“Good. I’d really like this Summer to be free of drama, I already have enough with my Dad and your Sensei being at war. We don’t have to follow them to the battlefield. Oh, I wish we’d had this talk weeks ago.... But what’s past is past, and now we have two whole months ahead of us until school starts again, right? I really want these months to be good.”

A shy smile appeared on Miguel’s lips, at last.

“Thank you, Sam. Thank you for hearing me out and give me a chance to explain myself.”

Suddenly, the annoying sound of an alarm came from the girl’s phone.

“My God, look at the time! My Mom is going to kill me if I’m not there in time for lunch.” She stood up and opened her purse, but Miguel made a sign for her to stop.

“Coffee’s on me, Sam. It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you around, right?”

“Right. And, Sam…”

“Yes?”

“Please tell your parents about me this time, tell them what happened. I’m sick of misunderstandings too.”

“I will. As soon as I can see a good moment to tell them, I promise I will. Goodbye, Miguel, see you soon.”

The boy saw her leave the café and get into her car. He sat down again with a smile dancing on his lips, feeling lighter and more optimistic than he had felt in weeks. He went to take a sip of his drink, but he realised his glass was completely empty.

“Gladys?”

“I’m here, sweetheart. Another milkshake?”

“Yes, please… and make it strawberry yogurt.”

* * *

 

“You painted _what_ on his billboard?”

Kate had already explained all the details of the lawsuit; that took her about an hour. Then the topic shifted to Johnny’s story, and it took longer because it was a long and messy one. After a hesitant start, he’d shared a disorganized tale of his feud with Daniel LaRusso: the beginnings with Ali, the fight at the beach, the shower thing, the All Valley tournament… and then the time jump of thirty-four years, the story of how he had met Miguel, confronted the boy’s bullies and reopened Cobra Kai.

Johnny was careful not to mention Robby. Or Kreese’s visit. He was trying to be thorough, but he also imagined there was a limited number of things Kate would be able to endure without freaking out. Women always freaked out when they heard things they didn’t like.

Kate, on the other hand, listened intently at everything Johnny said… and at the same time tried to solve the puzzle of what he _wasn’t_ saying. She didn’t think he was lying, but her experience told her that no client told the whole truth, at least not so soon. The first interview worked more or less like a first date: the clients always thought that if they put out too soon their lawyer would take advantage of them.

When he started with the story of the billboard graffiti his tone changed, and he flashed a devilish smile at her.

“It was an accident.”

“An accident? What, you tripped and fell on a can of spray paint?” she snapped, trying very hard not to laugh.

“Look, I’d had a bit to drink that night. And I’m sorry, but...”

“You’re not sorry at all. You’re proud of what you did.” This time she had to make a pause, because she had started laughing against her will. “It was a childish thing! And it’s probably the reason why that man manipulated Zarkarian to raise your rent. You poked a bear, Johnny, and you got mauled by it.”

“LaRusso’s no bear. A weasel, maybe.”

“The animal is irrelevant. But he seems vindictive enough to use all his power and his influence to harm you... and when we get the raise reversed there’s a chance that he’ll be pissed off, so you need to be careful.” She stopped to take some notes on her laptop and tried to look serious again, without much success. “When’s the last time you saw him? Did he make any kind of threat?”

“At the tournament, last month. No threats, at least nothing specific.” His face became somber as he spoke, like haunted by an invisible demon.

Kate was puzzled by Johnny’s reaction; Cobra Kai had won the tournament, what could be so bad about it? She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but before she had time to speak the door of her office opened with so much force that it almost hit the wall.

“Katey, darling, you won’t believe what Virginia from Finance told me this morning!”

It was Kevin, of course, barging into the room like the bull in the proverbial china shop. Kate froze, surprised, and Johnny jumped to his feet and looked at the stranger with mistrust.

“And what did we say about knocking, Kev?” Kate said, in the same tone she used to reprimand Rani when she misbehaved. She rolled her eyes and stared at her friend, irritated. “Really, you never learn.”

The impeccably suited man stopped in his tracks and looked around him.

“Oh, dear, I’m so sorry. I had no idea you had a client in here.”

The two men appraised each other carefully. For some reason, it reminded Kate of a scene in a wildlife documentary about lions she had seen once. At last, Kevin made the first move, holding out a hand.

“Kevin McMichaels. Kate’s business partner... and, nevertheless, friend.”

“Who never bothered to learn how to knock”, she added, still a bit annoyed at the interruption. “Kevin, this is Johnny Lawrence. He’s the president of the tenants association at the Victory Boulevard strip mall.”

Johnny shook Kevin’s hand and accompanied the gesture with a dry head tilt. From Kate’s point of view, it looked like the kind of handshake that could break bones.

“Ah, yes, the strip mall rent case”, answered the lawyer, without losing his smile. “I’m glad we’ve met; I’ll be giving Kate a hand with that one if she needs it. I’ve worked in a couple of lawsuits against Zarkarian before, and his legal team is not exactly full of geniuses; this case should be a walk in the park, right, Katey?”

“Right. We just went over all the paperwork and everything seems in order, so… thank you for the visit, Kev. I’ll see you later, after I’ve got a first draft of the complaint.”

She tried to go back to the papers on the desk, but Kevin seemed reluctant to go away.

“Are you sure you don’t need help? Hey, what are you doing for lunch? We can have a burger at The Stand and go over the complaint together.”

Kate let out a loud, impatient sigh. “No, thanks. I’ll just have a sandwich in the break room here, I have too much work. Thank you, Kevin.”

In the long years of his friendship with Kate, Kevin had become a good interpreter of his friend’s verbal cues. Two consecutive _thank yous_ in two consecutive sentences could easily be translated to ‘get your ass out of here now, or else’.

“Well, you know where to find me”, he concluded, flashing his perennial smile at her. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lawrence.”

He turned around and left, closing the door behind him without a noise. Kate sat down again and adjusted the screen on her laptop, as a silent cue to get back to business. Johnny sat back at the desk too, but his fists were clenched so hard that he seemed about to punch something. Or someone.

“I’m sorry for the interruption… He’s always like that, we’ve been friends for so long that he forgets all about manners sometimes.”

“Yeah, that’s none of my business”, was the sharp and almost spiteful answer.

Kate could feel the animosity radiating off Johnny like a wave. There was a strange look in his eyes again, a shadow of resentment and silent threat. It couldn’t be just because of the interruption... but what other reason could he have for not liking Kevin? After so many years working with men in grey suits who always smiled politely and spoke on the same leveled tone, it surprised her to find someone like the man in front of her; someone who wore all his emotions on his sleeve and didn’t give a damn if they could be read or not.

She hadn’t planned on telling him any stories about her life, but she knew she had to defuse the tension somehow. Because, if Johnny got up and left, he would be too proud to come back.

“You know, there’s this really funny story about how Kevin and I met”, she started, in the most gentle and casual tone she could manage.

“Funny how?” Johnny’s frown remained in place, and Kate went straight to the point.

“It was during my first month of college, at Notre Dame. My roommate had gone home for the weekend, and I was alone in my dorm room, in bed, listening to some music. It was almost midnight, and I had dozed off a little... when suddenly someone knocks on my door. Before I can react, the door opens… with a bang, like it opened a moment ago, and I see this tall Black guy, wearing only a teeny tiny towel that barely covered anything at all.”

She paused to take a sip of her coffee. Johnny remained very still, tense like a violin string.

“And then what?” he asked, bracing himself for what he expected to be a lewd story that he probably didn’t want to hear.

“I screamed. Obviously. _He_ screamed even higher, and then I realized he was just as surprised and scared as me. To make things worse, the towel slipped off, Kevin kept screaming, I started laughing... It’s a miracle we didn’t wake up the whole dorm. I don’t know where did I get the reflexes, but I threw him one of the pillows on my bed so he could cover himself... it hit him right in the face. And I just couldn’t stop laughing because the poor guy looked so lost and so embarrassed!”

At last, Johnny cracked a little smile.

“Wait, he got the wrong room?”

“Oh, no, worse than that. He got the wrong _floor_. You see, ours was a mixed dorm: boys on the even floors, girls on the odd ones. Turns out Mr. Towel was on his way to a booty call with the boy in the room right above mine... he took a wrong turn on the stairs and lost count of the floors.”

That finally got Johnny laughing, visibly relieved. “What an idiot.”

“Exactly what I told him after he spent ten minutes apologizing. Then he went on his merry way, to do... whatever he planned to do with the guy upstairs. The next morning, Kevin knocked again... this time fully dressed, and he brought me a frappuccino and a flower. And the next evening, he came to my room to introduce me to his boyfriend, with a bottle of wine in one hand and a box of pot brownies in the other. By then my roomate had come back and the four of us spent the night watching old movies, gossiping and laughing like idiots.”

Kate propped her chin on her hand, reminiscing with a smile.

“And that’s the story of how I met my best friend. We were inseparable during the four years of college, went to Law School together, worked together... I really don’t know what I’d do without him, and all that because the poor guy was so horny one Friday night that he couldn’t figure out the floor where his boyfriend lived. Isn’t life weird?”

“Yeah, weird.” He bit his lip and looked at Kate with a nagging question in his blue eyes. “So... you and him never...?”

“Oh, no! Not even by accident. The closest he’s ever been to hooking up with a girl was the infamous Night of the Towel... and all he got from me that night was a pillow thrown to his face.”

Johnny leaned back on his chair, visibly relaxed. Whatever it had been the cause of the tension, the crisis had been averted, and Kate felt it was time to go back to the subject of the meeting.

“So… you were telling me about Mr. LaRusso and the tournament last month. I’m guessing you two had some kind of altercation?”

“You could call it that.” He looked at the woman in front of him, made a pause, and then made a decision. “I already told you he has one student, the one who fought with Miguel in the finals.”

“Oh, yes, I’ve seen videos of that fight. Rani is completely obsessed with the tournament. She’s watched all the videos a dozen times, I’ve had to limit her time on YouTube before she memorizes every single move of every single combat. That boy in the finals… his name was Keene, right? Is he LaRusso’s student?”

“Robby, Robby Keene.” Another pause, and Johnny’s words came out slowly, as if they were painful to pronounce. “He’s my son.”

Many things passed through Kate’s mind in one second. The first was surprise. The second was a slight embarrassment, as if she had eavesdropped and learned a secret that she wasn’t supposed to know. The third one was the nagging feeling that she had foolishly stepped into a feud of thirty-four years, and now that she had heard certain things there was no way of escaping from it.

She also found herself out of words... a condition that could be fatal on a lawyer.

“His mother and I haven’t been together since he was a baby, and he’s sixteen now”, Johnny continued. “I don’t know what got into him, but a few months ago Robby got a job at LaRusso’s dealership and started training with him.”

Kate took a deep breath. “Do you think… you think that man did it on purpose? To drive your son away from you?”

“No, LaRusso had no idea, he only found out the day before the tournament. I think Robby started working with him just to get back at me… and the rest was just one of those situations where shit starts piling up and hits the fan.” Johnny shook his head and looked at his watch. “You probably won’t care about all this stuff, it has nothing to do with… with the rent thing. And I’ve already wasted too much of your morning.”

Kate pressed her lips together in a thin line. She felt unexpectedly furious. Furious at herself for pushing Johnny to confess things he wasn’t comfortable with, at fate for making up all those coincidences and messing with the life of a good man. Furious at that blasted car salesman for… well, the list of things he’d done was getting longer and longer every minute. She picked up the phone on her desk and pressed a button.

“Sally, I need you to reschedule my 11:30 meeting with Antony from Accounting, and keep holding my calls until lunchtime, please. And call the deli, tell them to bring coffee and sandwiches for two in half an hour. No, of course I can’t reschedule this. Antony will have to wait. Thank you.”

She practically slammed the phone on the hook.

“Why did they give me a secretary who thinks she’s my damned babysitter?”

The not-quite-curse word was the strongest bit of profanity Johnny had ever heard from Kate’s lips, and he couldn’t help smiling. “I told you she was snooty.”

“I’m really sorry about that”, she continued, in a more relaxed tone. “Look, Johnny, I don’t want you to think that anything you have to tell me is a waste of time. If you consider it relevant, then it is relevant, no matter if it’s completely related to the case or not... because this is something more than a case to you, right? This was never about just the rent.”

He nodded in silence, and she continued, carefully choosing her words.

“I wish I could help you fix things with your son, but that’s not my area of expertise. I still have a few years left before I have to deal with a teenager of my own. And I certainly can’t fix the… the trainwreck that man LaRusso keeps leaving behind him. All I can do is listen, and assure you that anything you say in this office will be kept strictly between us. And I can also be happy for you if we win the case… no, not if. _When_ we win the case, because we’re going to win it. So, now the rest of my morning has been completely cleared. If there’s anything at all that you think I should know... I’m all ears.”

* * *

 

It took Kate a while longer to reach the deep bottom of Johnny’s conflict with Daniel LaRusso. And with Robby. It was painful for him to talk about his son, that was clear. And sometimes he looked at her in a puzzling way, as if he wondered why he was confiding in a stranger. Then there was that awful business with Johnny’s car, and LaRusso’s cousin and his friends setting it on fire. Kate’s hands itched with the urge of calling one of his colleagues in the Criminal Law department and make them lock up that guy Louie for a few years... but after a brief argument she ended up promising to respect Johnny’s wishes and keep the matter under wraps.

It was lunchtime when the meeting ended, and she felt the beginnings of a headache drumming at her temples.

“Well, you’ve certainly given me a thorough view of the situation”, she said, standing up and turning off her laptop. “I’ll see you in a few days, when the complaint is ready to be filed. Until then, don’t worry about anything. Life goes on.”

Johnny opened the door for her and followed her to the spacious foyer of the law firm.

“You’re not taking Rattler to Cobra Kai today?” he asked, worried that he had finally succeeded in scaring her away.

“I’d love to, but I’m swamped with work”, she explained. “My sister-in-law is taking care of Rani in the mornings until school starts, she and my brother live in Lake Balboa. He’ll drive her to class this afternoon, I don’t want her to miss training just because I have to stay in the office all day.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll see you around then. Thanks, Kate. For everything.”

Kate shook hands with him, flashed him a bright smile and went back in to the office, leaving him in front of the row of elevators.

Johnny watched her walk away, wondering… Well, just wondering. She had stopped to speak to one of the girls on the reception desk, and he took a long look at her from a safe distance. Thank God she was wearing a dress and not those pants from the day he’d met her. Nobody in their sane mind would hide a pair of legs like those from sight. And she was a clever little thing, too, clever enough to explain the all the legal things to him without sounding pretentious.

He pushed the elevator button, closed his eyes for a moment, and sighed.

Johnny had never believed in fate. He believed in life throwing him curveballs and hitting him in the face with them, because that’s what had been happening for longer that he could remember. And now some twist of destiny had made this woman cross paths with him… This woman with her perfect job, her perfect office, her perfect homo best friend and her perfect Indian daughter who fought like a little devil. And her eyes, her perfect brown eyes that didn’t look at him with pity, or disgust, or suspicion, or any of those other things he was so used to seeing in the eyes of women. It was almost as if life had finally decided to give him some leverage.

Even if it was too good to be true, at least he could enjoy her talk and her company for a while. Pity that he couldn’t enjoy... something else, he thought, taking another stealthy look at the feminine figure under the fitted dress. But that would be crossing a line; besides, he was quite sure she only fucked snobby idiots in suits. They all liked to fuck snobby idiots in suits, for some reason.

Still, he kept staring at her from afar, until the elevator doors opened in front of him. There was no harm in looking, right? She was hot, it would be a damn shame not to look.

Back in the office, Kate made a brief stop at the coffee machine. She had already lost count on how many cups she’d had, and it was barely lunchtime.

She threw an irritated glare at Kevin, who had followed her sheepishly to the break room.

“Don’t be cross with me, Kate. I already apologized, you can stop giving me the cold shoulder. It’s not like I ruined your meeting or anything, and it was an accident!”

“Accident my ass. You did that on purpose, bursting into my office with that lame excuse, just because you were curious about him.” She shook an accusatory finger at her friend, but he just laughed it out.

“Damn right I was curious! When the judge rules in his favour, your Mr. Lawrence is going to be a local hero, I just wanted to meet him.” He made a pause and turned to look closely at Kate. “You know, judging from your description I thought he was going to look like an ugly middle-aged army sergeant, the kind of man who bellows at his troops all day.”

“And…?”

“And I admit I was completely wrong. He doesn’t look like a sergeant.”

“That will teach you to make assumptions.”

“He looks like the kind of man who makes the headboard bang against the wall so hard that the paint cracks and the neighbors complain.”

Kate missed a step and had to lean on her friend’s arm. “What? Jesus, Kevin!”

“Come on, girl, don’t tell me the idea hasn’t crossed your mind.”

“There are many ideas that cross my mind every day, Kev. I can assure you _that_ was not one of them.”

“Really? You seemed very anxious to get me out of the way when I went to see you.”

“When you interrupted my meeting without even knocking, you mean. Kevin, you saw how hostile he was when he saw you, of course I wanted you out of my office.” She looked out of the window and sighed. “There was a very uncomfortable couple of minutes after you left. He doesn’t like you very much. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was… but no, that’s completely absurd. And yesterday, when I went to the dojo, we had a sort of… Oh, I don’t know how to call it.”

“Wow, wait there. You had a _moment_?”

“Not even a moment, more like a millisecond. But it may have been just me. Or it may have been the heat, we were in the sun.”

“Right. Blame the heatwave if it makes you feel better, girl, but–”

“He’s my client now, Kev”, she interrupted. “There can’t be and there won’t be anything else.”

Kevin stared at her friend, smirking. “My darling Katey, if you had seen the way your client was looking at you before he went into that elevator, you would need a shower right now. A hot and suspiciously long shower. But hey, how you conduct your business is... none of my business.”

“Brilliant! Keep telling yourself that. And the next time you feel curious about Johnny… or about any of my other clients, you better knock first or I’ll tell Sally to ban you from my office. She’s like a pitbull when it comes to guarding the door, I’m surprised she hasn't bitten anybody’s ankle yet”, she joked. “Look, I’m not really angry with you. It’s just that… this case comes with a lot of baggage, and I’m going to need some time to process everything. Preferably alone.”

With as much dignity as she could muster she turned around on her heels, went inside her office and closed the door.

* * *

 

Later, much later that day, Robby got home from training at Miyagi-Do. It was almost midnight, and he dropped his backpack on the couch with a tired sigh.

He went to the refrigerator to see if there was something to eat. A note taped to the door caught his eye, and the boy recognized Shannon’s spidery handwriting; he didn’t even have to read it, he had seen all the possible variations of that note along the years. _I’m going to spend the night with a friend, there’s mac and cheese in the fridge, we’ll do something together this week, I love you, you’re my munchkin, see you tomorrow,_ and all that stuff. And a little pink heart, she always drew a little pink heart at the end.

Robby grabbed the note and crumpled it in his hand. The surge of anger invaded him before he could control it, and he threw the paper ball across the room.

He forced himself to breathe deep, to take his mind to a place of green forests and open skies; a place where people cared about each other instead of drawing fucking little hearts on scraps of paper. He closed the fridge door, went to his room and let himself fall flat on the bed. He wasn’t hungry anymore.

After a couple of minutes of breathing exercises Robby felt calm enough to open his eyes again. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and checked his messages. There it was, the ever present missed call notice. The reminder that someone was thinking of him, even if it was just for a few seconds every other day.

Without giving himself time to regret it, he dialed the number and waited for the answer.

“Hi, Dad.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter, these people really talk too much. I had fun writing Miguel again, the poor boy is 99% drama queen and 1% lost puppy. And I finally can give you a clue of what Kate, Rani and Kevin look like. The face claim for Kate is Amy Acker, and Kevin has the face of the dashing Taye Diggs.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the reviews. I love my Cobras!


	6. Parenting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One father talks to his daughter, one father talks to his son, and the air is cleared a little. Johnny learns two secrets about Kate: one funny, the other painful.

CHAPTER 6 - PARENTING

It was a strangely quiet Tuesday at the LaRusso Auto dealership. The wealthy population of Encino was too busy planning their holidays, relaxing at the country club, or simply at home hiding behind a curtain of freshly refrigerated air. Very few of them bothered to shop for a new car in the middle of June.

Samantha parked her car outside and walked across the scorching pavement. Once in the dealership, she went straight for her mother’s office. Daniel was also there, going over some personnel files. And Robby was nowhere to be seen on the shop floor... which, for the purposes of the conversation she wanted to have with her parents, was a relief.

“Sam, sweetheart!” Amanda greeted her. “I’m glad you haven’t forgotten about our lunch date this week. Last Tuesday you almost didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry I was late last week, Mom… I know our mother-daughter lunch is important for you. I went out for coffee that day, and I guess I lost track of time.”

“Went out for coffee?”, repeated Daniel with a surprised smile. “That sounds very mature and sophisticated. Any day now you’ll tell me you’re going out for brunch and mimosas with the girls, and then I’ll know I’m finally an old man.”

“No mimosas until you’re twenty-one, no matter what your father says”, reminded Amanda with a wink. “So, where’s this place where coffee is so good that it makes you be late for your weekly lunch with your mother?”

“It’s a lovely little place called Café de France; the waitress is like someone out of an old movie, with a pink apron and a huge perm... and she makes the best cappuccino in the world.”

“So, things are great again with Aisha and Moon, right?” asked Daniel. “Is anybody planning a special vacation? Your Mom was talking about going to Santa Catalina Island next month, it’s been ages since we went on a family trip together–”

“Actually, I haven’t seen Moon for a while. I didn’t have coffee with them the other day, Dad, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. To both of you, so I’m glad I caught you together.”

Daniel lifted an eyebrow. “I see. So… any new boy I should worry about?” he asked, in what he hoped was a lighthearted tone.

Sam took a long, deep breath, and forced herself to speak in a clear and calm voice.

“No, Dad. I was with Miguel.”

Amanda lifted her eyes off the paperwork and looked at her husband, who seemed on the verge of a sudden breakdown. He got up from his seat and started pacing up and down the office without saying a word for several seconds.

When he finally spoke, his voice sounded unusually shrill.

“Samantha, I… we… we talked about this!”

Sam observed her father’s face. He looked more hurt than angry, but the incensed LaRusso anger was definitely there.

“No, Dad. _You_ talked about this. I haven’t had a chance to say my piece yet… And I’d like to talk about it with you now; or during lunch if you want to come with Mom and me. But I really think it should be today, I’ve been looking for a chance to talk to you all week, and it can’t wait any longer.” Her eyes flashed with the same righteous fury that Daniel displayed sometimes.

 _Like father, like daughter,_ thought Amanda. _And both of them equally bullheaded._

She took it upon herself to play referee, like she had done countless times before.

“I think it will be better if we all sit down and talk about this peacefully, before any of you says anything you can regret. Or before I have to reach for the defibrillator, honey”, she said to Daniel, “because you look like you’re going to have a heart attack any second now.”

She drew up a chair for Sam, went to the water fountain and filled up three glasses. Then she sat down, presiding the table, and gave a meaningful stare at her husband, who had resumed the nervous pacing.

Sam sat close to her mother and looked at her for encouragement. This was going to be harder than she expected.

“Mom, Dad… First of all, just so we're clear: I’m not dating Miguel again, okay?”

She swore she had seen her father flinch when he heard the boy’s name.

“The truth is, I don't want to date anybody for a while. But last week he texted me to apologize, and he seemed sincere. And... Dad, I really can’t talk to you if you’re walking up and down the office and looking at me like I’ve committed a crime. I need you to sit down and listen, and if when I’m finished you still want to be angry with me, I’ll understand. Please...?”

Daniel stopped and nodded, still too unsettled to speak. He finally decided to sit at the desk, and he grasped his glass of water with both hands.

“Thank you, Dad.”

Sam took a long look at her parents. Amanda was smiling, but Daniel's frown told her that it would take a lot of convincing to make him change his mind, even a little. She looked directly at her father and started in a firm tone.

“I admit that last year I made several mistakes in a row. Dating Kyler was one of them; keeping Miguel a secret from you was another.”

“At least we agree on Kyler”, said Daniel, with a disapproving frown.

Amanda put a warning hand on top of his. “Honey, please let her speak.”

“Dad… The reason I didn’t say anything about Miguel was because you were freaking out so much about the whole Cobra Kai thing. I figured it would be the best, and I was wrong because he... he thought I was ashamed of him. And the worst part is, I _was_ a little ashamed. Not because he was poor and Latino and lived in Reseda, but because of where he was training. You were so sure that all the Cobras were monsters, that after you said it a few times I started to believe you.”

Her tone was pointed, almost accusing, and Daniel felt a tiny pang of guilt in the middle of his irritation.

“Samantha, I only wanted the best for–”

“I know”, she interrupted him. “And I should have had this talk with you the first time I went on a date with Miguel, instead of hoping things would sort themselves out, because that's when this... this whole mess started.”

Her voice almost broke, and she had to stop talking and collect herself before going on. Amanda placed a comforting hand on her daughter's arm, and the girl continued.

“I met Miguel at school last year. His family had just moved from Riverside. I didn't pay much attention to him at first, because... that was when I was hanging out with Yasmine, and her friends, and... Kyler. The first time I really talked to Miguel was when Yasmine gave me the cold shoulder, and he was the only one who volunteered to be my lab partner... but I'm telling everything in the wrong order. Sorry”, she said, shaking her head.

“Start again. And take all the time you need, sweetie”, encouraged Amanda. Daniel was still very serious, and unusually quiet.

Samantha took a deep breath again, looked at Daniel, and resumed talking in the most calm and collected tone she could find.

“Miguel’s family came to America, from Ecuador, right before he was born. He lives with his mom and his grandma in a tiny apartment in Reseda, close to where you lived when you moved to the Valley. He doesn’t have a dad. His mom is a nursing assistant, she works at a hospital… I don’t know how many hours a day, but he says she always comes home very tired and awfully late.”

“Sounds like a normal boy so far”, interjected Amanda. “Go on, sweetheart.”

Sam continued; she had calmed enough, but her voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“At the end of last Summer, right before school started, Miguel had a clash with Kyler and his friends at the mini-mart. They were trying to buy alcohol, and he blew their cover; that was the first time they beat him up… the time his Sensei stepped in to defend him.”

_I heard you beat up a bunch of teenagers in that parking lot out there._

Daniel felt his hair stand on end. Narrowing his eyes, he closed his hand in a fist and tried to concentrate on Sam’s words and not on the remembered confrontation in his head.

“There were other times. The last one was in the boys’ locker room the night of the Halloween dance. Kyler said something… awful about me, something I won’t repeat in front of you; Miguel heard them and called them out.” She took a breath that sounded like a deep sigh and stared into her father’s eyes. “They beat him with Lacrosse sticks, Dad, and they left him unconscious in the locker room. They almost sent him to the hospital.”

Daniel’s face turned deathly pale... Pale like a skeleton. A group of boys ganging up against one at a costume party was a situation he remembered too vividly. Amanda knew, of course, but he had never told Sam about it; she had no way of knowing the harrowing memories that threatened to return every year, every Halloween. No matter how many years had passed, every time a trick-or-treating child appeared on his door dressed like a skeleton he had to pass the candy bowl to Amanda and hide in the kitchen until his breathing returned to normal. And to make things worse, he had been there this time... at the school, only a few yards away from the place where that boy was inheriting his own personal nightmare; unable to hear the noise, the screams... the cries of pain.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his palm, forcing himself to keep listening to his daughter’s voice.

“Miguel had found someone who could teach him karate, and after he recovered he started training harder and harder. Then I broke up with Kyler, and I found out he and his friends were spreading awful lies about me at school. Miguel confronted them again, and… and this happened.”

She help up her phone in front of her startled parents so they could see the video of Miguel fighting his bullies in the high school cafeteria. It barely lasted a minute, and none of them spoke until the fight ended. It was a chaotic and noisy fight, several against one again... but this time the outcome was different than in Halloween, and in the end every kid in the cafeteria cheered on the lanky Latin boy.

“That's a really creative use of a food tray", observed Amanda.

“Let me see that again.”

Sam gave Daniel the phone and set the video on auto repeat. She knew he was going to analyze every punch, every kick, like he always did when he witnessed a match.

“Miguel only learned karate because he needed a way to fight back when everybody was against him”, she continued. “He took things a bit too far in the end because it’s the… the Cobra Kai way. Yes, he was a jerk that day on the beach, and I still don’t trust him like I did before… but deep down he’s not a bad boy. I really wish you could see that, Dad.”

“Well”, interrupted Amanda, “I happen to know a boy who went through a similar experience when he came to the Valley for the first time. Ring a bell, honey?”

Daniel kept looking at the YouTube video that played on a continuous loop. “Now that you mention it, this does bring back certain memories”, he said in an almost inaudible voice.

Amanda squeezed her husband's hand with affect. “Can we admit that maybe that Miguel boy is not absolutely evil… and Robby not absolutely good?”

Daniel lifted his eyes from Sam’s phone. “Excuse me? Why are you bringing up Robby now?”

“Because it’s about time you have a serious conversation with him, too”, said his wife. “A conversation that you’ve been putting off because he’s been injured. You already know he lied about his age on his resumé, that’s not important, but... last week while he was on sick leave he came to me and confessed a few other things from his past, things he’s kept hidden from you so far. Things he never told you because he was afraid you’d be angry with him. I asked him to wait, because it was too early after the tournament, and I was sure you would overreact… I thought it would be better to let the situation cool off a little.”

“Things from his past... What _things_? How can a sixteen year old have a past? And why is everybody keeping secrets from me?”

“And that’s what I meant by overreacting! Please don’t get all defensive with me, babe; it’s better if you talk to Robby. You know, man to man. He trusts you, I know he won’t lie to you this time.”

At last, the combined intervention of his wife and daughter seemed to have an effect on Daniel.

“Well, I can’t fight against the two of you. I surrender.” He loosened the knot of his tie, and looked at Sam with half a smile. “Sam, I admit I may have judged that boy too harshly, but there are still things I don’t like about him. A lot of things.”

“About him or about his dojo?” Sam asked.

“There’s no difference. God knows I’m not a fan of Cobra Kai. But since you’ve handled this in a very mature way, and you say that boy is only a friend… Well,  I’ve always considered myself a reasonable man, and I trust you with your choice of friends. For now.”

Samantha jumped from her chair and wrapped her arms around Daniel in a giant hug.

“Thanks, Dad! That’s everything I needed. You know there’s nothing I hate more than being a disappointment to you.”

“I may be disappointed in some of your decisions, sweetheart... but never in you.” At last, Daniel cracked a genuine grin. “You know, I think I’m going to accompany you two to lunch. Just to make sure you and your mother don’t join forces and spend the afternoon talking rubbish about me.”

“As if we ever did that!” answered Amanda with a laugh.

“Isn’t that the whole purpose of that mother-daughter lunch you’ve suddenly invented this year?”

“Lies”, laughed Amanda. “All we usually talk about is clothes and TV personalities. And if we get some family gossip in the middle of that, don’t worry… you’ll never find out.”

Seeing that the situation had returned to the normal banter between her parents, Sam got up, recovered her phone and headed towards the door.

“Look, I know you’re both really busy now, so I’m going to call Moon while you finish with your work. She texted me that she wants to borrow a dress for a date and I’m not sure which one she meant… Anyway, don’t worry about me, I’ll wait for you on reception. See you in a moment.”

Daniel saw her leave, surprised. Ten minutes before he had been expecting tears, dramatic scenes, maybe a scream match… anything but a calm and collected little woman calling him on his bias and getting him to change his mind about things. Only a little, but it was a change.

“When did our daughter suddenly become a responsible adult? Yesterday after dinner?” he asked Amanda, who seemed to be having way too much fun with the situation.

“Heartbreak makes people grow up, my love. I think Sam is getting there, slowly. She made many good points today, and I’m proud of her. I like that she can consider a problem from several angles and make a reasonable decision.”

“She must have gotten that from you”, he pouted.

“Of course she did get it from me, you stubborn man.” Amanda took a peek out of the glass walls of her office. Seeing that none their employees were looking their way, she put her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

From the other side of the store, Sam held her phone to her ear and saw her parents kissing. Letting out a sigh of relief, she let herself fall on one of the reception chairs and waited for Moon to answer her call.  

* * *

 

“Hi, Sensei!”

The little girl passed by him like a blur in the direction of the locker room. Like every afternoon, Rattler was early. Only Miguel showed that dedication to karate practice, and not even every day; the rest of the kids got to Cobra Kai right on time, or even a couple of minutes late.

Johnny didn’t bother looking at the door. Every day, for more than a week, Rattler had gone into the dojo alone. Outside, instead of Kate, there were the people who Johnny assumed to be the girl’s uncle and aunt: a tall man with dark hair and a reasonable likeness to his sister, or a Latina woman in an SUV with two toddlers in it. They never went inside Cobra Kai, so Johnny hadn’t had a chance to talk to them. Not that he would know what to talk to them about, in the first place.

With an exasperated huff, he went back inside his office, hoping to pass the time with a beer until the rest of the kids arrived. He went to the mini fridge, opened the door… and then he saw that Rattler hadn't arrived on her own that day. Someone had returned.

 _She’s been in the sun_ , he thought as he approached her. _She’s got a tan. Damn my luck._

Just what he needed to crush the... ideas he’d started having almost every night. That face and those legs with a golden tan. And why didn’t she just go into his office and say hello? Why did she stand like that in the middle of the mat, like a statue?

“Hey”, he said when he was finally beside her. “I was starting to think I’d never see you again.”

“We went to my brother’s for the weekend. His swimming pool is bigger than ours, and Rani wanted to spend time with her cousins. And the office has been insane these days, I couldn’t even pick her up after your class.”

“To what do I owe the honor, if you’re so busy?” He tried, and failed, not to sound irritated. He was mad at her schedule, not at her.

“I just wanted to tell you in person that I sent the complaint to Zarkarian, and his lawyers have answered. Not exactly a nice answer, so we’ll probably end up in court soon.”

She looked at the wall while she talked, staring at the Cobra Kai motto printed in big black letters. Her eyes were fixed on the bottom line.

_No Mercy._

“Has this motto always been the same?”

Johnny tried to remember a time when those words hadn’t been present in Cobra Kai. There just wasn’t one. “The same since I’ve known it, and it’s been decades. I don’t see any problem with it”, he added, a bit on the defensive.

Of course he knew exactly what was wrong with it; but he’d rather cut off his right arm than admitting it out loud.

“You don’t have to make excuses, Johnny”, she said in a calm voice. “I’m not trying to tell you how you should teach, that’s entirely up to you. I’ve never been a violent person, but it’s inevitable to get hurt when you do martial arts. I played roller derby in high school, and my legs looked like a map of bruises and scratches after every practice… but I was perfectly happy with it. Besides, no matter what this wall says, I know you’d never allow Rani to get seriously hurt.”

“How are you so sure?”

“She tells me everything that happens during training. Who spars with whom, who wins every combat, how many tries does it take each kid to break a board... Every day over dinner I hear every one of your words, repeated. By the way, and I don’t mean this as a criticism... but Rani has learned some very colorful phrases lately, that I’ve asked her not to repeat. I understand this is a very... male environment and that all the other children are older than her, but maybe you could rethink your choice of curse words a little.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll try. But why do you interrogate your poor kid like that?” asked Johnny, genuinely surprised.

She was looking at him again, instead of the wall, and for some reason she looked sad. No, not sad... hurt. Good God, women were just a pile of emotions that made no sense; why was she like that all of a sudden?

“Did I ever told you that Rani took ballet for a year when we lived in San Francisco?”

“You didn’t, but I could have guessed by some of her moves. But what does it have to do with–?”

“The first year was great, she had a wonderful time”, she interrupted him. “I mean, she was only six years old, of course I didn’t expect her to end up in the Royal Ballet. But then, on her second year at the dance school, a new teacher arrived, and Rani changed. She didn’t want to go to class, she acted up at school, she was rude to me… she even started having nightmares. I almost made myself sick with worry for weeks and weeks, until I could find out what was wrong.”

“Go on”, encouraged Johnny.

“Turns out her new teacher took ballet very seriously. Or, at least, her idea of what ballet should be.” She made a pause and took a deep breath, her voice trembling with rage and disgust. “Every day, for the space of two months, Rani had to listen to her teacher telling her, in front of the whole class, that she was too brown and too ugly to be a ballerina.”

She kept her eyes fixed on the wall, with a stare so hard and cold that even Johnny felt it. He also felt a wave of anger coursing through him, but he didn’t say anything. Nothing he could say would be enough to undo the words some idiotic woman had said to a little kid.

When Kate looked at him again, her whole body was shaking with rage.

“Rani was so scared and so ashamed that she didn’t say anything at home, and it took me too long to realize what was happening. Two whole months! There are very few ways one can be a good parent, Johnny... and lots of ways one can make a mess of things. I was careless, I trusted that the other adults in my daughter’s life wanted the best for her exactly like I did, and I was so wrong. And the result could have been terrible for her.” She closed her right hand in a fist, a fist so tight that Johnny could practically feel her nails digging into the flesh of her palm. “So yes, I’m going to ask Rani to tell me absolutely everything, until she gets to the phase of rebellious teen and stops sharing things with me.”

“I hope you went to the school and gave that whore a run for her money”, he spat. It wasn’t the most brilliant answer to the situation, but it was the first thing he could think of.

“Oh, she won’t be teaching in any Conservatory or any other official school for many years, I made sure of that”, Kate said, bitterly. “But the damage was done, it took months for Rani to return to normal again. That’s when I decided that she needed an activity where nobody would care about the way she looked, something that would let her have enough confidence to defend herself. That’s when I started taking her to karate lessons.”

She was now pacing up and down the room, her heels making that loud clicking noise that had become almost familiar for Johnny.

“I’ve never seen you angry before”, he observed.

“I don’t have a lot of chances to get angry in my normal life, Johnny. Work is work, you can’t lose your temper in front of a judge. And in the office... well, if a woman flips out in front of a male colleague they all label her a bitch. You’re a man, you know what it’s like... When was the last time you called some woman a bitch because she gave you a piece of her mind?”

“I don’t remember”, he answered, choosing to ignore the poisoned dart. “But if you ever feel like blowing some steam and punching something... There's a dummy over there.”

“I may take you on that offer someday. Let go of some tension and just throw punches until I can’t feel my arms anymore.”

She lowered her eyes to look at her hands, and Johnny followed her gaze out of instinct. Small, delicate hands, with short red nails. Johnny just couldn’t imagine those hands punching a dummy… or punching anybody, ever. Then a light went out in his head and he remembered one little fact from earlier in the conversation.

“Wait a minute... you played roller derby in high school? And you say you don’t like violence? I saw a few matches back in the day, those roller chicks were crazy!”

“We wore protective padding! And we were all girls, it’s different.”

“Girls can be more vicious than boys in a fight. Just look at Aisha… and Rattler. But hey, it’s nice to know there’s a hidden wild side to you.”

“Well, we all have parts of our past that we’d like to keep hidden”, she admitted with a coy smile. “Let’s just say that I let out a lot of my teenage frustrations on the track. I wasn’t exactly a queen bee in high school, and at least in roller derby there were some popular girls who didn’t mind having me around... as long as I could block.”

“That sounds really cool”, he said, still trying to get into his mind the idea of Kate as a fierce roller girl. “And… I know Rattler tells you everything, but I want you to know that all the kids are equal in Cobra Kai. I don’t tolerate that kind of nonsense in my dojo.”

She finally seemed to relax a little, and she even smiled at him.

“I know. You’re an equal opportunities Sensei. That’s why Rani is having such a great time here.”

Right in that moment Miguel and Aisha came through the door, with Virgin behind them. It was almost time for class, and Kate checked her watch.

“Well, I have to go. My brother will pick up Rani after class, so I probably won’t see you again in a few days. Thank you... for listening to my maternal neuroses.”

“I won’t charge you for the therapy session.”

That finally got a laugh out of her, and she walked towards the exit, with Johnny following. He held the door open for her, and seized the opportunity to ask one final question.

“Kate?”

“Yes?”

“You haven’t told me your derby name.”

She seemed amused and embarrassed at the same time. “Oh, no. Nice try, but... no. I’m not telling you that, not even under torture. Goodbye, Johnny.”

She was gone before he could decide if the answer was a challenge or not, and he waited until she was too far away to hear his next words.

“We’ll see about that, roller girl.”

* * *

_  
Danger on Wheels._

_Little Miss Pain. Wacky Williams. Krazy Kate_.

Johnny shook his head and chuckled to himself. None of those were right. None of those suited her.

The thought of someone as poised and civilized as Kate strapping on some skates and rolling at all speed on a crowded track was so surprising to Johnny that it had been on his mind all afternoon. That, and the fucking derby name she wouldn’t reveal. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get the idea out of his head until he’d found out.

Not that he had anything else to do in that particular moment. He was sitting under the cold and sterile lights of a Taco Bell in Roscoe Boulevard, waiting.

Waiting for Robby.

The boy was ten minutes late, and if he managed to be _only_ ten minutes late it would be a new punctuality record for him. But Johnny had driven from Reseda to North Hills right after class, and he had been sitting there for almost an hour.

He didn’t know exactly what he was going to tell his son when he arrived, but at least they would be talking, and that was a start.

He had ordered a couple of tacos and a Coke. Not beer, for once. _At least not in_ _front of Robby_ , he thought. Now that he considered it calmly, maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to drink in front of Miguel, either. The world had changed so much that a man couldn’t give a teenage kid a drink to ease his pass into adulthood anymore. No wonder they all turned out like pussies.

He was lost in his inner ramblings about alcohol, misspent youth and generational change when Robby arrived.

“Hi, Dad. Sorry I’m late.”

That was the first thing he noticed was different. Robby apologizing for being late? Was this his son or some kind of changeling? The boy also looked older, and sadder, and he even gave him half a smile when he sat at the table.

“No, thanks for coming, Robby, I… I needed to see you. How’s the shoulder?”

Instinctively, the boy’s hand flew to the injured area, as if he was checking if the splitting pain was still there.

“Fine. I went to the doctor last week, he said I could go back to training. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

There was no point in delaying the inevitable, so Johny braced himself and just said it. “Look, Hawk was an idiot at the tournament. And I’m the one who trained that idiot, so I’m responsible for what he did to you. And I’m sorry.”

It was probably the longest sentence he had said to Robby in months; the boy stared at Johnny, surprised.

“Dad, I don’t blame you for–”

“Well, you should. ‘No Mercy’ doesn’t mean fighting dirty, and I should have made the message clear to Hawk. And to the others.”

He didn’t mention Miguel by name, although the boy’s turn to the dark had been on Johnny’s mind for a while. But it wasn’t worth it, reminding Robby of the one who had kicked his ass on the mat and snatched the trophy from him.

“Well, I agree with you on one thing, Dad: he’s an idiot. I probably shouldn’t have made fun of his stupid hair, though… I’m not proud of that.”

“You should have seen him before he did that to his hair, he was a complete wuss. At least he’s got a girlfriend now, I hope she’s able to fuck some sense into him.” He took a sip from his drink and looked at Robby again, as if assessing all the changes, the ones he could see and the invisible ones. “You showed some balls appearing at the tournament like that, without a dojo or a Sensei. I don’t know if I would have been able to do that.”

A proud smile appeared on Robby’s face for a second. “I felt I had to do it, even if I was on my own. I owed it to myself. I don’t know if that makes sense. And... I wasn’t alone in the final match.”

“Right.”

The elephant in the room started running in circles around the table, and Johnny went straight for it. “You’re training with him again.”

It wasn’t a question. There was no need for questions.

“Yes. He has a new dojo, at his old Sensei’s house. It’s only Sam and me so far, but Mr. LaRusso says he’ll try to bring some more people after the Summer.”

“I remember his old Sensei. Tiny dude, but he fought like a whole army.”

“Yeah, there are pictures of him at the dojo, he seemed like a cool guy. Look, Dad, about Mr. LaRusso…”

“I don’t want to hear about him.”

“Well, you’re going to hear this”, said Robby with a determined frown. “I started working for him just to piss you off, and that was a dick move. But he is a great guy, Dad.”

“Especially compared to me, right?” Johnny asked with a bitter grimace.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Robby hid his face in his hands. “God, Dad, why is it always so difficult with you? Why does everything have to be a fight, or… or a competition? I’m training with Mr. LaRusso, yes, and I honestly think it’s a good thing. The only good thing that has happened to me in… I don’t know how long. Can’t you just be happy for me and let me live my life?”

“Your life? Cool, go live your precious new life in Encino!” said Johnny between gritted teeth. “And how much of that life does LaRusso know, eh? Does he know about your adventures with your two little loser friends last year? How about you dropping out of school, and doing Molly? Have you told mister pillar of the community that exactly one year ago you had one foot in juvie and another one on a banana peel?”

“No, I haven’t said anything to him! Not _yet_. I told Mrs. LaRusso a few things the other day, and I’m trying to find a good moment to talk to him... But I guess you’re going to tell him first, right? You just can’t wait to ruin everything good in my life!”

Now both of them were mirroring each other’s stance, bent forward with their hands on the table, staring at each other in an angry stalemate. There was a hint of furious tears in Robby’s eyes. After a few seconds Johnny recoiled a little, as if the boy had delivered punches instead of words. He sighed and looked away.

“It’s not my secret to tell, Robby. And I’m not out to make life harder for you, no matter what you think of me.”

The boy seemed to calm down a little. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Look… LaRusso may be a snobby jerk, but if training with him is good for you, then you should keep doing it. I just wish you had come to me first.”

 _I did,_ thought Robby. _I tried. But your fucking star student was there in my place._

“Yeah, it’s too late to change things now”, he answered. “But thanks for the offer. I saw the way your guys fought at the tournament… it’s amazing what you did with that bunch of nerds in less than a year.”

“I’m not sure how I did it. But yeah, it kind of worked. And I want to bring more kids to the dojo, too... We already have another girl.”

“Really? Is she as badass as Robinson?”

“Badass and tiny. She’s eight.”

Robby looked at his father as if he was insane. “Eight? Jesus, Dad! How do you let her train with all those older boys? She’s going to get hurt!”

Johnny flashed a proud smile at him. “You wouldn’t say that if you saw the kick to the shin she gave Hawk today. I think he’s going to be lame for a week.”

“Why didn’t you start with that? If that girl is making Skunk Hair feel any kind of pain, I like her already.”

Johnny smiled; he took mental note of the new nickname and made the decision of using it on Hawk as soon as he could. He was glad the conversation had taken a lighter tone, especially because of what he wanted to tell Robby next.

“Hey, I’m glad things are going great for you at work, but… you’re going back to school next year, right? You’re too young to drop off.”

Robby’s face went serious again. “Listen, Dad, about school… it’s not really my thing. If I went back I would have to repeat a grade, and that sucks. Everybody in my class will think I’m an idiot.”

“Not if you go to summer school and work hard until September. You’re not an idiot… and the LaRusso girl is smart, I’m sure she could help you.” Johnny forced himself to speak in a calm tone; he didn’t want to rile up Robby again. “What are your other options? Keep selling cars for the rest of your life while all the kids with a college degree get better jobs than you? There has to be something else you can do.”

“Selling cars is a good job, as good as any other. And it’s something I can finally do well.” Robby bit his lip, debating if he should say what was on his mind. There was still a remnant of cruelty in him, of his old resentment towards Johnny, and before he realized he had already blurted out the words: “Besides, you’re one to talk! Mom says you dropped out of college because you were too fucking lazy and you partied all day for a year until your grades were so bad you had to leave. Who are you to give me lessons in education?”

Johnny closed his eyes. A shadow passed over his face; a painful shadow of memories that he didn’t want to recall, not even after so many years.

“Of course she would say that”, he whispered.

Robby stared at his father in silence, feeling a little guilty because he had expected a very different reaction. He didn’t mind the usual shouting and scolding, he knew how to respond to that. But Johnny seemed suddenly paralyzed by grief, and the boy couldn't imagine why. At last his Dad spoke again, in a voice so quiet that Robby had to make an effort to understand his words.

“I dropped out of college at the start of my sophomore year, when your grandmother got ill. She died around Christmas, and I was too upset to go back.” He finally opened his eyes again and looked at Robby with a hurtful expression. “Your mother knows that perfectly well. Maybe you can ask her why she told you that other story instead.”

“God, I… I’m sorry, Dad.”

Robby found himself with nothing else to say. ‘Sorry’ didn’t seem enough, but it was the only thing he could think of. He also found himself trying to remember his grandmother’s face, the face he had only seen in a couple of old pictures. She had looked very pretty in those... and also incredibly sad.

“If you don’t want to go back to high school… I understand that. But at least you could keep studying at home and get your GED”,  continued Johnny. “Have something that looks good on record, in case you change your mind in a few years. Life won’t give you a lot of second chances, Robby. It happened to me, and I don’t want it to happen to you.”

Robby ran his hand through his hair and sighed. The longest talk he’d had with his Dad in years was turning out to be the most painful too, and despite all the times they had fought in the past it hurt him to see him so defeated. He extended a hand and placed it on Johnny’s sleeve, hoping to reassure him with the contact.

“You had a second chance last year, Dad... with Cobra Kai. And I think you’re doing quite well.”

“Yes. But the time I lost in between is never coming back.”

“Fine... I’ll think about the GED thing”, the boy relented. “And I’ll ask Sam for help. Mom will have a fit when I tell her I’m not going back to school, of course, but… Maybe she won’t care too much now that I have a job.”

“How’s your mother?” Johnny asked, grasping at the opportunity to change the topic to a less painful one.

“Do you really want to know, or are you just asking to make conversation?”

Of course the boy was suspicious. Johnny couldn’t remember the last time he had asked him about Shannon. It was a topic he’d rather avoid.

“I just want to know if things are good for you at home. If I spend the rest of my life without hearing about her again I will be perfectly happy, but she’s your mother and I have to ask.”

“Well, she’s fine but don’t see her much these days... I have a lot to do between work and training. And she’s got a new dude. Another one.”

“Another poor idiot.”

They looked at each other and exchanged a knowing smile. Robby checked the time on his phone.

“Hey, I’m going to grab us something to eat, it’s getting late. What do you want?”

Johnny fished a twenty dollar bill from his pocket and gave it to the boy. “Another Coke and some loaded nachos. Get all the food you want, okay? You’ve been injured, and you’re doing a lot of exercise again, you need to eat properly.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pay, Dad? I know your dojo has money problems…”

A cold light flashed in Johnny’s eyes.

“I’m still enough of a man to pay for my own food. And for yours. As for the dojo… there are going to be changes there soon, on the money thing.”

“That’s… that’s really cool. What changes?”

“I can’t tell you yet. But there’s someone who has promised to help, and if she keeps her promise… Nah, I’ll tell you when it’s done, if everything goes well. I don’t want to jinx it.”

Johnny watched his son walk towards the counter. He wanted to talk to him about Cobra Kai, about the lawsuit. About Kate.

 _Don’t,_ he thought. _You’ll fuck things up in the end, and Robby will think you’re a loser. Again._

Standing in front of the counter, Robby ordered his food and smiled at the pretty cashier, a redhead with a cute freckled face. When the girl turned around to get his order, he observed Johnny from afar.

He had mentioned someone who was going to help him. A woman? The idea of Johnny accepting a woman’s help was completely alien to the boy; as alien as his Dad asking about Shannon without slipping a couple of well-aimed insults in the middle of the sentence. What was going on at Cobra Kai? And who could be that woman that his Dad wanted to keep a secret from him?

He shook his head and willed himself back to reality; it was probably another one of his father’s far fetched ideas, and if he wasn’t telling any details it probably wasn’t anything important.

He winked at the girl with the red hair, picked up the food tray, and returned to the table.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again, with another long chapter because when my characters start talking there's no shutting them up.  
> I'm incorporating here a bit of headcanon that I invented in a tumblr post: that Johnny's mom got terminally ill and died during his sophomore year of college, and he fell into a depression and wasn't able to go back to school. Of course we don't know exactly when and how Laura died, but I figured it made sense with the timeline, and with her asking Sid to look after Johnny if the boy was just nineteen at the time.


	7. Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel makes a decision and asks for help to get some new students. And Johnny gets some new students without asking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter comes with a little surprise: there will be no Kate in it. Just as a test, to see if the story can hold its ground for a while without my main original character. She’ll be back in chapter 8, of course, because we all know where this is going (it says Johnny/OC on the tags, after all). I’m also giving you two new supporting characters. They won’t have big parts, but I hope you like them.

CHAPTER 7. PRIDE

“This is all your fault, LaRusso!”

Daniel held his phone a couple of inches away from his ear and sighed. On the other end of the line, the heavily accented voice of Armand Zarkarian grated on his eardrums like a drill.

“Well, I disagree. And if you’d only let me explain why…”

“Explain? I just fired one of my lawyers for giving me too many stupid explanations, I don’t need more of those from you!”

“Armand, if you don’t calm down and start speaking in a normal tone, I’m going to hang up.”

“I only raised the rent of the mall because _you_ made me believe that you were interested in buying property in Reseda! And now those fancy-ass lawyers of Powell and Morgan not only want a rent reversal, they’re also asking for punitive damages! This is going to cost me a shitton of money!”

“I never told you how to manage your business, my friend. Besides, with all the extra money you’ve made from doubling the rent all these months, you can–”

He barely got two sentences in before the other man interrupted him again.

“Tenants Associations should be prohibited! What kind of a free country is this, that a man can’t put the price he wants on his property, eh?”

Daniel frowned. He was standing in the patio of Miyagi-Do, in the cool shadow of the trees; the ill-timed call had interrupted him in the middle of a training session, right when he was about to tell his two students some news.

Well... two and a half students now, he thought. Sam had brought someone to the dojo: a pale, priggish kid called Demetri, who went to high school with her and apparently had had a bad experience at Cobra Kai a while before. The boy was only half convinced, because he also had friends… over there, but with a bit of luck Daniel thought he could make something good out of him. But first, he had to end that damned phone call and make Zarkarian understand that he wasn’t responsible for his legal woes.

“Armand, keep shouting at me like that and I swear I’ll hang up and block your number”, he stated in a firm voice. That made the other man stop talking, at least for a few seconds. Long enough for Daniel to try and put an end to the conversation.

“Look, man, I’m really sorry that you have been sued. But, as I’ve tried to explain to you several times in the last ten minutes, _you_ raised the rent of the strip mall on your own accord, even if you insist that something I said gave you the idea. I don’t win or lose anything in that business, remember? And I certainly never told you to infringe the Affordable Housing Act, so please don’t try to drag me into this. That being said, if you’re not happy with your current legal team, I can always call the firm I work with and make a recommendation; I’m sure they will be very happy to have you as a client.”

He listened to the other man’s answer with a smirk. He was glad he hadn’t put him on speaker, because Armand Zarkarian had some very precise and very colorful ideas about _where_ Daniel could stick his recommendation, and he wasn’t shy to share those ideas at the top of his voice.

After the call ended he sat down on a bench, trying to make sense of the convoluted tale that his former friend had practically shouted in his ear.

It had been months since his carefully crafted mind games had led Zarkarian to double the rent on Cobra Kai. And also on several other innocent businesses, like Amanda had reminded him bitterly several times. In retrospective, Daniel wasn’t proud of his little stunt, but he had figured that there was nothing he could do to reverse it without blowing his cover and admitting his guilt. And now, out of the blue, one of the most reputable law firms in Los Angeles had dropped a monumental lawsuit on the mall owner... a law firm hired by a recently created Tenants Association. Of course, he knew perfectly well who was really behind the lawsuit, because the string of cosmic coincidences had been on a roll for almost a year… and of course it wasn’t going to stop now.

But he couldn’t imagine his childhood enemy casually strolling into Powell and Morgan and hiring a ‘fancy-ass lawyer’, like Zarkarian had called them.

Who was giving Johnny Lawrence legal advice? What lawyer could be so immoral, or so clueless, to associate with such a man? And why now, after so many months? Some things just didn’t have any logical explanation.

With another sigh, he stood up and entered the building to meet his waiting students.

Inside, Sam and Robby were tirelessly busy with their kata, moving in unison with quick and fluid movements. On one corner of the room, Sam’s classmate observed the duo with his mouth half open, like hypnotized.

 _We need more fascinated faces like that one_ , thought Daniel. _More boys and girls who can appreciate the beauty of kata and karate._

“So, Demetri, what do you think?”

“Wow! I mean… wow. You know, Mr. L, I was at the tournament last month, and I liked what I saw, but this kata stuff is like… like a whole different sport.”

“Not a sport, my boy. It’s an art. And if you stay at Miyagi-Do I promise you’ll learn a lot about karate… but you’ll learn even more about yourself.”

“Ah, yes. Like the Bard said: _To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man_ ”, recited Demetri, who unfortunately for his social life was one of those people convinced that there is a perfect Shakespeare quote for every occasion.

“Precisely”, answered Daniel with a forced smile. Okay, the boy had zero athletic abilities and was a bit on the pedantic side, but he was sure that some training and healthy exercise would furnish him with more experience about real life and less encyclopedic knowledge.

“Well, I’m sorry about the interruption, kids. But I have some good news to make up for it”, he said, sounding sincerely pleased.

“What is it, Mr. LaRusso?” asked Robby with an eager smile.

The boy had looked happier and less sulky for a few days, and Daniel wondered why. He had been trying to encourage him gently, to make him feel comfortable enough to start that pending conversation about… whatever horrible things he had done before coming to work for him. But there was always somebody else present: Anoush or the other salesmen at the dealership, and Sam at the dojo. He hadn’t been able to get Robby alone for ten minutes to ask him about his past without trying to sound too nosy.

He gave the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“This morning I got a call from one of my friends at the All Valley Athletic Committee. There’s a Japanese-American family that has just moved to Encino, and they have contacted them because they’re looking for a good place where their children can train. Sue didn’t give me a lot of details, their last name is Yoshida... or maybe Yashida, she wasn’t sure. They have a boy who’s just turned seventeen, and a girl of fifteen; and I’m going to do everything in my power to make them come and train at Miyagi-Do.”

Sam’s face lightened up immediately. “Dad, that’s fantastic news!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Sam. Apparently, from what Sue told me, the boy is ninety per cent convinced of coming here, but the girl is researching other dojos too. They have trained together for years, and now they want a bit of independence from one another. But I promise at least one of them will end with us, or my name is not Daniel LaRusso.”

Robby hadn’t said a word after the announcement. In fact, he looked a little downcast, and Daniel looked at him, concerned.

“Hey, is there anything wrong, Robby?”

“It’s nothing, Mr. LaRusso, just…” the boy hesitated. “You said they’re Japanese, right? I’m sure they’ve been doing karate for many years. And they’ll be better than any if us if they have so much experience… I was just thinking that I’ll probably be the worst one in class now.”

Daniel stepped in front of the boy and grabbed him gently by the shoulders.

“There is no ‘better’ or ‘worse’ in this dojo, Robby. I’m trying, to the best of my ability, to impart the wisdom that a very good man shared with me when I was your age, and that can’t be measured in trophies or belts of different colors. You’re my student for life, remember? And if those kids end up training here, I’m sure they will learn as much from you as you can learn from them.”

The boy nodded, looking slightly relieved.

“Please, Dad, you need to convince that girl to come here”, insisted Samantha. “I mean, training with Robby is great, but…”

“But you miss having a bit of companionship, in and out of class. Am I right?”

“Yes. The only girl I know who likes to talk about karate is Aisha, and she doesn’t have a lot of free time to chat because she’s always… you know. Over there.”

Daniel frowned. Had he transferred his own personal trauma to his daughter so subtly that she even avoided saying the name of Cobra Kai out loud? Or was Sam not saying it because she thought it would be painful for him?

“Sam, I know you would be happier with one or two more girls here, and I’m glad you’ve reconnected with Aisha. But let’s be realistic: it’s going to be difficult getting girls into Miyagi-Do. Every other dojo in the Valley has the same problem: society is always telling little girls that they aren’t cut for martial arts, and unfortunately most of them end up believing that lie. But don’t worry, I’ll keep working on it. It’s just… most girls don’t happen to pass in front of a karate dojo one day and say ‘let’s just go in and give it a try’.”

* * *

  
“Let’s just go in, Sophie! Give it a try.”

The two teenage girls stood near the entrance of the Reseda mall mini mart, with their eyes fixed on the Cobra Kai sign next door.

The one who had just spoken was the tallest of the two, a Black girl with a determined expression on her face; she was staring at the sign of the snake as if it was a billboard of the promised land. Beside her, her companion ran a trembling hand through her blonde pixie cut hair; she fidgeted with her headband, looked at the sky, then at the dojo door again, and finally lowered her eyes to the ground.

“I don’t know, Grace. I’m not strong enough to open a jar of pickles, what business do I have in a karate dojo?”

Grace held the smaller girl’s hand in hers for a moment without saying anything. When she felt that Sophie had calmed down a little, she insisted.

“You said it would be nice for us to do something together, right? We've been thinking about this for weeks.”

“Yes, I guess we did, but...”, hesitated Sophie.

“And we know you can’t join me at the West Valley High Athletics team anymore, because of what happened last month when I had the _brilliant_ idea of coming out to my teammates”, continued Grace with a disappointed frown.

This time it was Sophie’s turn to reassure the other girl. “Coach Abernathy was a total bitch throwing you out of the team like that.”

Despite the bitterness of her previous words, the Black girl smiled. Cursing always sounded so alien in Sophie’s sweet voice, it felt like Tinker Bell had suddenly gotten some language lessons from a pirate.

“Technically, I wasn’t even thrown out. I was ‘politely asked to leave’, because Coach Asshole couldn’t stand the thought of her little flowers sharing a changing room with a lesbian… even though I’ve been on that team for two years, since I started high school, and I have two State records under my belt.” She shook her head with a sad grimace. “But that doesn’t matter anymore. Listen, we know some of those kids already. Last year I was in a Physics seminar with Aisha Robinson, and she’s really cool. I had lunch with Aisha and her friends a couple of times, including that boy who won the All Valley championship. His name is Miguel and he seemed nice, too… Well, nice enough for a boy.”

Sophie still didn’t seem convinced. “And what will we tell them about… us? If we start hanging out here every day, they’re going to notice.”

“Except we won’t give them time to ‘notice’ anything, because we’re going to walk into that dojo like this”, answered Grace, grabbing the other girl’s hand and interlacing her fingers with hers. “If anyone asks, we’ll tell them the truth: that we’re girlfriends. It’s that simple. And if they don’t want us because of that… well, at least we’ll know from the first moment instead of living in fear of being found out. So, let’s make a decision together: do we go in or not?”

“How are you always so brave?”

“I’m a fighter, baby”, Grace laughed.

A sweet smile lightened up Sophie’s face. “Yes, you are. And I can tell that you want this so much… So yes, let’s go in there and learn some karate together.”

“Are you sure? If this is going to be too hard on you, I can always go to the school board when classes start again, try to get reinstated on the team…”

“No! You’re not going to humiliate yourself trying to get back into a team where they don’t want you, Grace.” Sophie stood on her tiptoes and kissed her girlfriend’s cheek. “Let’s do this.”

* * *

  
Johnny had seen them loitering outside, and of course he had assumed they were waiting for one boy or other. After all, that’s what Moon did every time the class lasted a bit more than expected: first she sat for a while at the café, and then she waited outside, with her nose glued to the glass door, until Hawk came out. For a second or two, he had even entertained the hopeful idea that Miguel had forgotten about the LaRusso kid already and had found some solace in the arms of a different girl.

But no, those two had actually stepped into Cobra Kai. And not only that, they wanted to sign up. Both of them, even the blonde chit of a girl who looked like someone out of a fairy tale. She didn’t speak much, that one, and the Black girl had done most of the talking so far.

“So, Miss Lincoln, you’re telling me you used to be at the Athletics team in high school. What sports?”

“Triathlon. That's swimming, cycling and running. I broke two under-18 State records last year.”

“Why did you leave?”

“I was made to leave”, she answered in a defiant tone, “because Coach Abernathy had a personal problem with my lifestyle.”

“Why, were you doing drugs?” he asked, suspicious. “We don’t fuck with those things in Cobra Kai, and I have ways of finding out.”

“Absolutely not. No drugs, no alcohol. I told you, it was an entirely personal matter.”

So the girl wanted to be mysterious. Fine.

“I don’t care about your personal problems, miss Lincoln. Nor about your former coach.  I care about how serious you and your friend are about joining Cobra Kai, and–”

“Girlfriend”, she interrupted him.

“Excuse me?”

“Sophie is my _girlfriend_ , not my friend.” The girl enunciated every syllable of every word loud and clear, as if she was making a speech.

So that’s what the ‘personal problem’ had been. Some imbecile of a coach had let a perfectly good member of the team go, just because she was making out with another girl in her free time. It sounded like a waste of talent to him.

A wave of whispers traveled around the dojo. Aisha was looking at the two girls with a reassuring smile; all the boys’ faces showed different degrees of surprise or confusion. Only Rattler seemed unbothered by the reveal; she was standing next to her idol Aisha, like she always did when the class stopped, and listening to every word with a very intense expression on her little face. Johnny wondered if the kid’s Mom had ever told her that girls could date other girls… and he also wondered in how much trouble would he get with Kate if this wasn’t exactly the way she wanted Rattler to find out.

“Everybody quiet!” Johnny’s voice resonated like the crack of a whip. He faced the group of boys, with his arms crossed. “If any of you wants to keep gossiping like an old lady, you can go to Gladys next door. If you choose to stay, I don’t want to hear a word unless I ask you a question. Is that clear, gentlemen?”

“Yes, Sensei”, they muttered.

Seeing that he had everybody’s attention again, Johnny turned towards the other girl. The fairy.

“And what about you? Does the girlfriend have a voice?”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Grace tense up, with her fists closed; Aisha gave the girl a warning look, but Johnny ignored it and kept staring at the other one until she answered in a tiny voice.

“Yes, Mr… I mean, yes, Sensei Lawrence.”

“What’s your name?”

“Sophie Nagurski.”

“Nagurski, like the football player?”

“He… he was my great-grandfather. I never got to meet him.”

For a second, Johnny thought about his old collection of NFL trading cards. He wondered what the legendary Bronko Nagurski (who, if he remembered correctly, was six foot two and big like a mountain) would have thought of having a great-grandchild so tiny that a breeze could blow her away. And who smooched another girl in her free time.

“Have you played any sports, do you have any athletic experience?”

“No, Sensei.”

Johnny considered her answers for a moment, and made her wait until the girl looked appropriately impatient. “And tell me, Miss Nagurski with the famous great-grandfather… Are you here to learn the Way of the Fist, or just to stand there and look pretty? Because, if it’s the second, you can go pay a visit to Gladys, too.”

The girl looked puzzled, of course, so Johnny continued.

“Gladys is the lady who owns the café next door; the café where the girlfriends of my Cobras wait for them until my class is finished. There’s a girl called Moon in there right now, sipping a low-calorie milkshake and waiting for Hawk. So… what’s it gonna be, Sophie Nagurski? Learning karate with your girl, or wasting your time in front of a milkshake until she finishes with her training every afternoon?”

The fairy jutted her chin up and smiled.

“Grace and I are in this together. If she stays, I’m staying too.”

Johnny squared his shoulders and stared hard at the two girls. So it was two for the price of one, or none at all; and he couldn’t ignore Aisha, standing in front of him with an almost pleading look on her face. The girl felt lonely among so much testosterone; he couldn’t blame her for that. After all, if it didn’t work and the girls left after one or two days, he had nothing to lose... And at least they would be hanging out with each other between classes, instead of distracting the boys.

“Very well. You already know Aisha, and that means you know how things are done in Cobra Kai. There will be no kid gloves for any of you, understood? Miss Lincoln, you’re an athlete, so I will be expecting you to be at the top of your game from day one; and you, Miss Nagurski…”

“Yes, Sensei.”

Well, at least the girl had learned how to address him properly on the first try. One point for her.  

“Take off that headband while you’re here. No headbands, hairpins, earrings or bracelets, no silly knicknacks that can get caught on your clothes and cause an injury. Both of you, shoes off and step on that mat. Get to the back of the class and keep your eyes open, I don’t like repeating orders.” He then turned towards the rest of the kids. “Now listen to me, you animals! I hope I don’t have to tell you twice to treat these two with the respect you would give to any other Cobra, do you hear me?”

“Yes, Sensei!” the class answered, all at once.

Johnny didn’t add any further explanation, but he was sure the message was clear. From the corner of his eye he saw Grace throw a defying look to the boys and curl her lips in a little smile.

 _That’s right_ , he thought. _One has to be tough on the inside to walk in here and do what you just did, little lady, so let those boys know you have more balls than them._

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. All his life he had been brought up to believe that women attracted trouble, and that meant he was fighting all his instincts by letting more girls into Cobra Kai. Aisha had been a worthy exception, Rattler was too little to be problematic… and now he had those two. It was already a trend, not an exception. But hey, students were students. He had accepted all those nerds and losers from the start, and sure as hell he wasn’t going to start being picky now.

LaRusso could afford to be picky; LaRusso with all his money, his fancy house, his uppity wife, and his spoiled princess of a daughter. He could keep tempting Robby with his kata and his fucking new dojo, but in the end all that money wouldn’t make a difference. There was force in numbers, and he knew he had a bunch of good kids in Cobra Kai.

Johnny only wished he could see the expression in his old enemy’s face when he found out that there were more girls in Cobra Kai than students in LaRusso’s dojo.

* * *

  
About a week later, a foul-tempered Sensei Lawrence observed his quiver, organized like always in neat lines on the mat. The main reason for his bad mood was that the group looked a bit diminished: four boys had gone on vacation with their parents, and they wouldn’t be back until late August.

Johnny understood that the kids had families, of course; but he also wished Fall would arrive soon, because the routine of having school in the mornings made the kids concentrate better, with less shenanigans like excursions and family trips to distract them. The group also seemed quieter than usual, especially because it was missing one particular rattling sound that had become so familiar to him… and that was the other reason why he felt so irritable.

A short and hurried call from Kate a few days before had informed him that she and Rani were on their way to Seattle, because Kate’s father had taken a fall in the shower and was nursing a broken ankle. Kate’s mother, who in turn was nursing Mr. Williams, had blown the horn of the matriarch and summoned her two children from sunny California to the Northern lands, to give some moral support to the head of the family. The result of all that was a Rattler-less dojo, no visits or calls from Kate, at least for a whole week... and an ill humored Johnny. His only consolation was that at least the new girls were doing more or less fine. One better than the other, he thought, comparing Grace’s athletic stance to Sophie’s thinner frame and timid movements. But he had to admit that at least the smaller girl had guts, and she never flinched or complained; in fact, her permanent smile was the first thing all the other kids associated with her.

Johnny was starting to think that girls and karate _did_ go together. Sometimes. At least the four girls at Cobra Kai had more cojones than most of the boys he knew. Maybe he had been wrong about that at first; maybe his dojo needed to reflect the world outside and the women in it. Women who were stubborn enough to do a man’s job, despite being smaller and weaker; women who used their minds and their wit as a weapon, like LaRusso’s wife, or... like Kate.

He kicked himself mentally for allowing his thoughts to circle around her again. It wasn’t enough that some nights, after the third or fourth beer in the loneliness of his apartment, his mind started projecting images of Kate. Images that appeared out of nothing against his will, images that belonged in an R-rated movie (especially one recurrent fantasy that involved her at her office desk… no, _bent over_ her office desk). Now he was starting to have those same thoughts by day, and with no alcohol to take the blame.

_And that’s when she’s not even here. Fuck._

“Fine, enough warming up! You’ve earned the right to do some sparring”, he barked, snapping out of his daze. “Pair up and try not to bore me too much with your sissy kicks.”

There was a rustle and a sound of hushed whispers within the lines, while the kids gravitated towards one another.

“Okay, stop where you are, all of you”, interrupted Johnny. “Virgin, trade partners with Aisha. And you, Diaz… you can’t spar with Hawk every time, choose someone else.”

He walked among them, stopping in front of the two new girls, who naturally were facing each other.

“Pride and Joy, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The nicknames were so fitting that everybody in the dojo had adopted them in a second. And, what was more, the girls also seemed to love them... which kind of defeated the purpose of a nickname in the first place. But hey, who was he to judge?

Grace had been the first one to get hers. Calling her Pride had been so obvious that no one of the other kids bothered to use her real name anymore… and even Sophie called her that sometimes. After all, she was the one who wore the rainbow flag t-shirt, the rainbow sneakers, the rainbow flag patch on her backpack, and the striped pink flag sewn on her jacket. Johnny had no idea why there were two different flags, but damned if he was going to ask. Someday he’d tell Miguel to search the pink flag on that Google thing and find out what it meant.

As for Joy… well, after naming Pride, it had been an inevitable follow-up. The girl was unable to stop smiling, not even when she got hit or took a fall. And she took a lot of falls, the poor kid, because she still had the clumsiness of a beginner and the strength of a kitten. That was why, every time he told the kids to pair up, her girlfriend grabbed Sophie by the hand and didn’t let anybody else spar with her.

Well, time to put an end to that nonsense, thought Johnny. He stood beside the couple with a stern look.

“What do you think will happen if you always spar with your girl, Pride?”

“Nothing”, answered the girl, looking a bit puzzled.

“Exactly. Nothing! She will throw her weak-ass punches at you, and you’ll make it look like they’re doing some damage. Then you’ll give her your faintest kick, like you did yesterday, because you don’t want it to hurt, and at the end of the class she’ll go home knowing nothing about karate”, he stated. “So, from now on the two of you won’t spar with each other again, not until I say so. Pride, go over there with Hawk; let’s see what happens when you try to kick the shit out of a real opponent who is strong enough to do the same to you. Diaz, come here and show Joy how it’s done. She’ll be sparring with you every day until she can land at least one punch on your face, no matter how long it takes.”

Sophie opened her blue eyes so wide that she looked like a little baby doe, but she didn’t protest. Miguel, on the other hand, still didn’t like fighting girls, and he was confident enough in his position as class champion to challenge some of Johnny’s orders.

“Sensei, it would be better if she starts with someone else. With Tim, or–”

Johnny bid him silence with a wave of his arm. He stood in front of Sophie and held one hand up, with his palm facing the girl.

“Punch my hand as hard as you can, Miss Nagurski.”

The girl obeyed.

“Again”, he ordered. “Three more times.”

Right, left, right. Three punches, and only the last one made Johnny’s hand move half an inch backwards.

He turned towards Miguel again, and grabbed the boy gently but firmly by the back of the neck.

“Do you remember how hard you punched that dummy on your first day here, Diaz?”

“No, Sensei”, answered the boy.

“Well, I do. And your punches were weaker than hers. Do you think Joy has the balls to learn all the things you’ve learned during this past year?”

“Yes, Sensei.”

“Then start helping her by doing exactly as I say. And you, Joy–”

“Yes, Sensei!” exclaimed the girl, standing to attention, with her eyes fixed on some imaginary horizon.

“At ease, for God’s sake, before you sprain something”, he sighed. “Look... Diaz is a fucking gentleman so he won’t hit you hard. But this is karate, not a knitting class, and sometimes it has to hurt. Got it?”

“Yes, Sensei”, she answered, her smile wider than ever.

“Good. Now, remember: throw your weight behind your punches, and keep your feet firm on the ground.” He gave the girl a reassuring nod and resumed his original position in front of the class. “Everyone ready, face each other! Bow, and… fight!”

The phone in his pocket started to vibrate, and he rushed to his office to get the call while the kids engaged in their punches and kicks.

The reason for rushing was that he had recognized the number on the screen. He had committed it to memory the first time he’d gotten a call from the Powell and Morgan office.

“Kate?”

“No, pal, sorry. It’s Kevin McMichaels.”

Johnny repressed a disappointed groan. He was sort of cool with Kevin now that he knew he played for the other team, but he had been expecting a different voice on the other side of the line. “Hey, Kevin. Any news?”

“News of Kate? Not yet, she’s still in Seattle”, answered the other man, trying to sound encouraging. “I’m sure you wish it was her on the phone and not me, but she won’t be back for a few days. I know her Mom, and I can assure you that when Marianne Williams gets in Mother Hen mode it’s really hard for her children to get away from her. I’m under orders from Kate to fake a work emergency and help her come back if she’s not here on Monday. What can you do... it’s family, and sometimes it’s a bit dysfunctional. You know what it’s like.”

“Yeah, sure”, muttered Johnny, who had his own (but slightly different) experience with dysfunctional families.

“So, while she’s away at that godforsaken city with the worst climate in the world, the duty of keeping you informed falls on me, and I’ll try to be the best substitute I can: I had another meeting with Zarkarian’s lawyers yesterday.”

“Good. And...?”

“I told those idiots, for the third time in two weeks, that their best chance of avoiding being humiliated in front of a judge was to lower the rent and arrange some compensation for you and the other tenants. But no, apparently their client has ordered them to reject any kind of settlement. So, of course, I started getting ready for a trial. And... today I got some news from the Court.”

“What news?”

“We have a trial date. And it’s sooner than we expected.”

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first pic you see up there was gifted to me by the lovely TheEmpressAR, who surprised me with it the other day. Thank you so much, my dear Empi, it's perfect! The other one is mine, so you can see what Pride/Grace and Joy/Sophie look like. I once said on Tumblr (and I wasn't the only one) that Cobra Kai needed more girls, so here they are. They are supporting characters, so they will probably be around a few teenage cast scenes only. But it felt right to write them, and once they appeared in my mind I just had to include them somehow.
> 
> Bronko Nagurski was a real wrestler and NFL player in the thirties and forties (but Sophie is entirely fictional, of course). And yes, he was a really big guy, look him up if you don't believe me.


	8. Ethics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robby comes clean to his Sensei about his past. Kate gets some news at work that could affect Johnny in an unexpected way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again! Kate is finally back, and with her a few paragraphs of legal drama. I apologize in advance; I swear this is not a crossover with The Good Fight, it was necessary for the plot (you’ll see why right at the end of the chapter). Also, I’ve realized how much I like writing Daniel; he’s got a very particular vision of the world, and it’s fun to try and put myself in his mentality.

CHAPTER 8. ETHICS

Daniel placed the two matcha cups on the table and shifted his weight on the pillow under his legs. His bad knee hadn’t given him trouble for a while; but it felt stiff when he sat in certain positions, and the old habit of checking if it hurt was always with him.

Sitting in front of him across the low table, Robby stifled a sob, rubbing his tear-stained cheek with the back of his hand; Daniel felt his heart break a little.

The boy had already been tired before they started talking, it was pretty late and he’d had a very intense day. First work at the dealership, then training at Miyagi-Do, and dinner at the LaRussos to finish. He had invited the kid with the excuse of having him try one of his recipes, but the truth is Robby had been too eager to accept.

No matter how exhausted he looked, it was clear that Robby didn’t feel like going home, and he had been like that for several days in a row.

That was why Daniel had suggested a little tea ceremony at his home dojo after dinner. Not the whole ritual, that would have taken hours; just some matcha tea and friendly conversation, man to man. He had hoped the boy would finally trust him enough to acknowledge his past… What he hadn’t realized was that maybe he had bitten more than he could chew with Robby Keene. The kid turned out to have a long list of misdeeds in his career, and they weren’t exactly childish pranks. In fact, he had been very lucky not to be arrested. Daniel was kind of expecting everything he said about the vandalism and the bad companies he kept; also, the fact that he had skipped class for months was nothing extraordinary, considering that the boy had been working for him at the time.

His confession of the thefts and the drugs, however, had been a painful surprise. Daniel suspected that his expression of alarmed disappointment was the final straw that had made Robby start crying. He teared up in complete silence, without sobbing or shaking, and with his gaze fixed on the wall of the dojo. Daniel recognized the signs, of course: this was a boy who was used to crying alone in his room, making no noise so he wouldn’t bother anybody.

“Mr. LaRusso, if you want me to leave now, I… I’ll understand.”

“What? Heavens, no!” answered Daniel, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. “Robby, please, let’s not go through this again. Do you think I’m so heartless, after you’ve finally come clean and told me the truth? I already made that mistake once, the night before the tournament; I’m not going to repeat it.”

“But… but the things I’ve done–”

“Are part of the past. You have progressed way beyond those things. All I need is your promise that they won’t happen again.”

“I swear. I won’t let you down, never.”

At least the boy was loyal. And even if it had taken him a while to tell the truth, well… Daniel trusted that it was the _whole_ truth. He took a deep breath and refilled the tea cups.

“Okay, drink up. Green tea is good for the mind, or at least that’s what Mr. Miyagi said… many years before it was fashionable. Now it looks like everybody’s drinking it.”

“Did your Sensei make this tea for you?” Robby took a small sip of his cup. The bright green drink was unsweetened, and he couldn’t help making a face.

“Actually… he gave me sake once”, admitted Daniel with a guilty smile. “But I’m not going to do that, we’re not in the the eighties anymore. I’ll exchange the tea for a glass of red wine once you’re twenty-one, but until then it’s matcha or nothing.”

“I don’t know if I’ll still be here when I’m twenty-one. I mean, by then you will have more students, and…”

“Let me stop you there”, interrupted Daniel, turning serious again. “Robby, we talked about this the other day at the dojo. I never stopped being Mr. Miyagi’s student, even after I was a grown man. And I will always be your Sensei, this thing is for life. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily… especially now that I know all your shameful secrets.”

He winked at Robby when he said that, and that finally got a smile out of the boy. There was a pause while Robby tried to put his thoughts in order, until he finally spoke.

“I already told you it won’t happen again, Mr. LaRusso, and I mean it. My Dad said something the other day about… about life not giving people a lot of second chances, and I don’t want to blow up mine. I’m serious.”

Daniel rested his chin on his palm. He suspected the conversation would take them to Johnny eventually, so he just braced himself and asked what he wanted to know.

“Does your father know about all this stuff you’ve told me?”

“He knows… well, only a part of it”, said Robby, with his gaze fixed on his cup of matcha. “He knows about the school, and… about Molly. He also saw me with Trey and Cruz once, I think he realized they were crooks. I’m not sure about the rest.”

“Has he ever tried to talk about this with you?”

Robby nodded.

“After the last time I skipped school, the principal called my Dad and he came to the apartment. Mom wasn’t there. He tried to talk to me, but I told him I was done with school; I called him a loser, told him to leave, and that was the last time we talked… until the tournament.” Robby fidgeted with a strand of his hair, as if deciding if what he was going to say next was the right thing. “I know he went to see my Mom after that, and told her that I could move with him, but… I guess I didn’t believe him. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t seen…”

“Hadn’t seen what?”

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” Robby shook his head. He was still bitter about that scrawny Latin punk hugging his Dad in the parking lot, being his fucking favorite student, acting like he had a right to be there in his place. But he couldn’t tell that to Mr. LaRusso, he wouldn’t understand. He had no way of knowing how it felt to be replaced. The boy felt the familiar wave of anger coursing through him... a wave that was getting easier to control every time, but it still threatened to sweep him away. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then another. With the third one, Miguel’s threatening image shrinked and returned to its hiding place on the back of his mind, and with it the toxic thoughts that repeated once and again how his father had chosen a replacement son instead of him.

When he opened his eyes again, Daniel was smiling.

“You know, you’re learning to control that anger really well. I wish I’d had that kind of balance when I was your age.”

Robby narrowed his eyes and looked at Daniel with curiosity. “What were you like, when you were my age? Did you get angry a lot?”

“I was… oh, God, I was a hothead”, Daniel laughed. “Always looking for trouble, and most of the time I found it. Yes, I remember being so angry all the time… angry at my Mom, at the school, at the people in it, at your Dad... at the whole world, because when you’re sixteen there are moments when you think the world is against you. But all it takes is someone older and wiser to tell you that it’s not. That it gets better, all you need is time to find your balance.”

The clock on the wall chimed softly several times, and Daniel looked at his watch in disbelief.

“Speaking of time... look at that. In exactly thirty seconds Amanda is going to appear through that door and ask if we need anything. Although what she’ll really mean to say is that we should finish our tea and close the dojo for the night.”

He started picking up the teapot and the cups. It took forty seconds for Amanda to arrive instead of the predicted thirty, and she even knocked.

“Is there anything you need, boys?” she asked when Daniel opened the door. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but… Robby, if you want to spend the night, I’ll get the guest room ready. It’s getting late.”

“Really?” asked the boy, surprised. “I mean… no, thank you, Mrs. LaRusso. I don’t want to leave my Mom alone, so if you’ll excuse me, I'm going to take a Lyft.”

“No, you’re not”, said Daniel. “It’s my fault that you’re here at this hour, so the least I can do is take you home. Besides, it’s about time that I meet your Mom, don’t you think?”

He wasn’t expecting the look in Robby’s face. Something between shame and petrified horror, with a tinge of panic that made the boy’s voice shake.

“No. No, please, Mr. LaRusso… I don’t think it’s a good idea that you meet her. Not yet.”

“Robby, you know your parents don’t define you, right? But if you’re having trouble at home, maybe there’s a way I can help. Just let me talk to her.”

The boy sighed. “Look, Mr. LaRusso... I already told you that I saw my Dad a few days ago, right?”

“Yes. But you haven’t told me how it went. I don’t mean to pry, but–”

“It’s fine. It went… kind of okay, I guess. Better than I expected. I think it was the longest talk we’ve had since I was a kid.”

Daniel smiled and looked at Amanda, who was doing exactly the same. Of course Robby didn’t see himself as a kid anymore.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“The thing is… The day I talked to him I found out that my Mom lied to me about something. Not a super important thing, but I’m sure her only reason for lying was making my Dad look bad. And now I’m thinking… God, I don’t know how to say this without it sounding horrible. It does sound horrible in my mind.”

“You’re wondering if it was just that one time, or if there are other things she hasn't told you the truth about”, finished Daniel, with his eyebrows knotted together in a frown. “Maybe she did it to protect you, Robby. I’m not saying it’s okay to lie to your children, but sometimes a parent... well, you’ll have kids of your own one day and then you’ll understand how it is. There are moments when the truth can do more damage than a small white lie. ”

The boy hesitated. It didn’t feel right to spell all the painful details to someone who wasn’t family, even if it was his Sensei and Mrs. LaRusso. But it was a day for telling the truth, and he felt he had a moral obligation to do it.

“When my Dad was nineteen, his Mom… my grandmother Laura fell ill. The doctors said she had leukaemia, and back in the day cancer treatments were… they were not…”

Robby’s voice broke, but Daniel kept listening respectfully. Sometimes it was too easy to forget that Johnny Lawrence was a human being; and, as a human being, he must have had a mother. Everybody did. But hearing the story about how he had lost her was painful, of course. He thought of his own mother and how much she had supported him during those years; Daniel just couldn't imagine his teens and early twenties without Lucille.

“Go on”, he whispered.

“She only had a few months to live when they found out. My Dad quit college to be with her while she was sick, and after she died he was too depressed to go back to school.” He lifted his gaze from the floor and looked at Daniel, with a flash of rage behind his eyes. “But all my life my Mom told me he had been expelled from Stanford for… you know, drinking, and partying, and skipping class. What reason did she have to say that? What did she gain with that lie?”

“Wait a second... Johnny went to Stanford?” Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise. He just couldn’t imagine his old enemy at one of the best colleges in the country, not even for one year. One thing was sure, the man was full of surprises; and Daniel found himself wondering if the mental image he had created of Johnny so many years before had been completely accurate.

“And now, how do I know she’s not lying about other things too?”, continued the boy with an anguished sigh. “I love my Mom, of course, but… I don’t know who to trust anymore. I don’t want you to meet her until I’ve had a conversation with her about some things, and I’d rather wait until I find the right moment. Please.” There were tears in Robby’s eyes again. He didn’t know exactly who he was crying for… maybe for his Dad, or for Shannon and the shattered image he had of her now. Maybe even a tear or two for the delicate looking blonde woman in those old photographs.  

Daniel nodded; it would be cruel to pressure the boy further. After all, there would be time to meet his mother properly. He made the mental decision to invite her and Robby to one of the LaRusso family barbecues. Surely Ms. Keene would be grateful for a day out, especially when she worked so hard to raise Robby alone that she even got confused and lied to her son sometimes.

He suddenly realized he’d never gotten around to ask Robby about Shannon’s job, but the boy was already on his way out.

Daniel put the tea utensils on a tray, handed it to Amanda in silence and switched off the lights of the dojo with a sigh. No wonder Robby didn’t want him to meet his mother; the poor woman probably hated all men after having to suffer living with Johnny.

* * *

  
Johnny Lawrence didn’t hate people. Well… not in general.

The subjects of his hate were particular people, and not many of them. LaRusso was very high on the list, of course. And Sid, also on top. The LaRusso kids, maybe… One for breaking Miguel’s heart, and the other for being an obnoxious brat. Shannon had graced the list once or twice through the years, but in her case it was more contempt than real hatred. No, the group of people Johnny truly hated was very exclusive.

And now Kate’s secretary had just passed the exam for joining that group. With flying colors.

For fuck’s sake, he had tried to be nice to the girl… Shirley? No, Sally. But all he got from her after he greeted her was an upturned nose and a lot of negativity. First, she pretended to have lost his appointment with Kate, even though he showed him the message on his phone. Then, she tried to make him wait outside in the lobby, instead of offering him a seat in Kate’s office. And now she had kept him waiting for twenty minutes, and he was sure the girl hadn’t even told Kate he was there.

A meeting with another client. Sure, he knew lawyers had several cases going on at the same time. But he couldn’t help feeling like a fish out of water in that office, with its abstract paintings on the wall and its silly modern furniture.

The damned girl hadn’t even offered him coffee.

Johnny tried to distract himself pacing around the room and looking out of the window, until his gaze fell on a couple of framed pictures on Kate’s desk. There was one of Rattler in a karate gi... that one made him smile. It wasn’t the Cobra Kai gi, the crest was different; probably her old dojo in San Francisco. He felt a little offended, but after all he had only given Rani her new gi a couple of days before. There would be time to take another picture.

The other frame was bigger, a family photo, and he recognized the people in it: Kate and Rani were sitting in a garden, and beside them was the man he’d seen driving Rattler to the dojo a few times; the brother. Next to him was a short Latina woman with a dark-haired toddler on her lap, and another boy of four or five years standing next to her. They all looked happy, and Johnny felt a pang of envy.

He was about to step out and ask the secretary from Hell how long was she going to keep him waiting, when the door opened with a familiar bang.

“Johnny, am I glad to see you! I can call you Johnny, right, pal?” asked Kevin, with a megawatt smile only a tad brighter than his flashy tie.

This time Johnny tried not to crush the other man’s hand when he shook it. He was starting to genuinely like Kevin.

“Sure, great. Ah… I have a meeting with Kate today. Is she–?

“She’ll be here in a minute”, answered the other man, taking a seat on the chair opposite Johnny. “Sorry to keep you waiting; I’m working on a police brutality case and we just had a last minute meeting with my client, we’re a little pressed for time. I asked Kate to come with me because she’s going to be second chair tomorrow in court.”

“Yeah, okay.” Johnny waited a couple of seconds, but the explanation he needed didn’t arrive. “I don’t know what that is.”

“Oh, right, sorry again. Some days I forget that not everybody around me works on this field. Second chair means a lawyer who helps the lead attorney in court. I’m in charge of that police brutality case; but Kate will be at the trial too, she’ll present the opening statement, and maybe examine one or two witnesses. She’s also there to give me a hand if there’s any point of the law she knows better than me.”

“So… she gives you the passes and you score, right?”

“Exactly!” laughed Kevin. “Sports analogy is on point. And I’ll do the same for her two weeks from now, at the Reseda strip mall trial. You’re her client in that one, it’s her case... so she’ll call the shots and I’ll be second chair. _Quid pro quo_.”

Johnny remembered enough Latin from high school to know what that one meant.

“Anyway, this meeting is just to go over the paperwork and rehearse a few of the questions the judge and the defendant’s lawyers may ask you”, continued Kevin. “Keep in mind that this is a civil case, not a criminal one; we only have to present a certain amount of evidence against the other party, and prove that Zarkarian’s actions have damaged you and the rest of the business owners in the mall. Besides, this is a special court, so the trial will take place before a judge, not a jury; that's good for us, because the Affordable Housing Act is not an easy read, and juries tend to get confused with the technicalities. You just have to answer our questions, and the other party’s questions, then we present our evidence, and everything will go well.”

“Fine”, said Johnny in a doubtful tone. The initial discomfort when he knew Kate wanted him to give testimony had morphed into cautious acceptance, but he still didn’t like it too much.

Kevin noticed him going quiet, and tried to reassure him.

“Boy, I’ve dumped a lot of legal babble on you in just one minute. Is there anything else you want to ask me? I’m here to solve all your doubts, okay?”

“No. Well… yes, but it doesn’t have to do with the case.”

Kevin smiled. “If it’s any kind of gossip, you’ve come to the right place.”

“It’s just…” Johnny hesitated. “Do you know if Kate is planning to go back to San Francisco?”

“What? No, that’s absurd. Who told you such a thing?”

“I heard that she had a guy there, and I thought maybe she was thinking of going back… I don’t want to lose my lawyer, that’s all.”

Like most good lawyers, Kevin was naturally suspicious. It didn’t take him more than a second to see what was happening, and he tried very hard to suppress a smile.

_Very clever, Mr. Lawrence. Nobody told you she had a boyfriend in San Francisco, right? Nobody here could possibly know that, because it’s not true. You’re just poking the best friend for information… Well, if that’s what you want, here it goes._

“Oh, no way. Kate has lived almost like a nun since she adopted Rani” he said, in the most convincing tone he could find. “I mean, I know she dated one or two guys a couple of times while she lived in San Fran, but… nothing serious.”

Johnny didn’t answer, but Kevin saw he was deep in thought, so he took his chance to deliver the final blow.

“I’ve been telling her over and over that she can’t become a recluse just because she’s a Mom, but… You know what she’s like, practically married to her work. I’m not an expert on women, but... I think she needs a guy who’s not afraid of having a relationship with a woman just because she has a kid; and there aren’t many men like that.”

_There’s your challenge, Johnny boy. And if that doesn’t get you hooked... I don’t know what will. You’ll thank me later, both of you._

Right on time, before Johnny had a chance to keep asking questions, the doorknob turned, and there was Kate.

“Hello, gentlemen. Were you having fun without me?” She greeted the two men with a smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Johnny. One of the name partners wanted a report on one of my other cases, and you can’t make Mr. Powell wait… after all, this is his firm.”

Johnny stood up to say hi, and he almost went for… What? A hug? He liked to think that he and Kate were past the point of politely shaking hands, but that just left him in some uncharted territory of smiles and head inclinations. Not enough, not after more than a week without seeing her. He needed more than that, he needed… God, to touch her face, to run his fingers through her hair just once, to see how soft it was.

Fortunately for his peace of mind, Kevin took charge of the conversation.

“Is that a new dress, Katey? I’ve been meaning to ask you all morning, it looks stunning on you but it’s not your usual color.”

“Yes”, she answered, smoothing the fabric with her hand. “A gift from my mother, she insisted that we went shopping the other day. She thinks that if I dress like a traffic light I will magically attract her perfect son-in-law.”

“Oh, I see your Mom hasn’t changed a bit.”

“Let’s just say I’m glad to be back here, where my life is not a constant disappointment to anyone.”

During this exchange, Johnny took a chance to notice the dress. It was red. Very red. A short sleeved thing, not too tight, not too revealing… just bright enough to pique Johnny’s imagination. And it wasn’t just that. There were many hot women in Los Angeles, that wasn’t the problem. But seeing Kate and Kevin together had made Johnny realize he had no one to share things with. Ordinary, everyday things. The banter between her and her friend, the easy conversation, the warmth; he wanted that. Well... that, among other things. Things hidden under a deceitfully modest red dress.

Kate was speaking again, and Johnny blinked to will himself back into reality.

“Sorry. You were saying something.”

“Nothing important. Just that exactly one month ago was the day I took Rani to Cobra Kai for the first time. It’s been a very intense month, but… I’m glad I chose your dojo, I think we made a good decision.”

“Yeah, I agree”, said Johnny with a smile. “Rattler has potential, I told you then. You should be proud of her.”

“I am terribly proud. In fact, I’m going to take her to Baskin-Robbins for some ice cream today after training, to celebrate our first month here. Kev, do you want to come with us?”

“Oh, I’d love to, girl… but I’m going to work late today, I have some things to revise for tomorrow’s trial.” Kevin looked at Johnny and tilted his head. “But hey, if you’re looking for someone to share an ice cream with, I’m sure Johnny can accompany you two after class.”

It was worth a try, Kevin thought. An innocent third party suggesting an innocent outing. Not a date, of course; especially not with Rani there to act as a tiny chaperone. But maybe it could work.

What Kevin never knew was that it _would_ have worked, perfectly well. As soon as he said the words, Johnny was already opening his mouth to agree to the ice cream plan.

It was a pity he didn’t have time.

An insistent knocking at the door interrupted them, followed by the irruption of a stout middle-aged woman. She had the anxious face of a person who’s about to deliver bad news.

“Oh my God, you guys… Haven’t you heard?”

“Virginia, we’re with a client”, said Kate, clearly annoyed at the interruption. “And we’ve been in a meeting with another client all morning, so… whatever it is, we have no idea. What’s wrong?”

The woman took a step closer to the table, acknowledged Johnny with a polite smile, and adopted a conspiratory tone.

“It’s Sebastian… Sebastian Feldt. The whole office is talking about it. He’s about to be fired!”

The two colleagues looked at each other, astonished. Kate was the first to react.

“What? But… that’s crazy. They can’t fire Sebastian, he’s the best divorce lawyer we’ve got.”

“And he’s a partner”, added Kevin.

“A _junior_ partner”, clarified Virginia, adjusting her thick glasses over her nose. “They’re accusing him of violating the partnership agreement.”

“That’s a very serious accusation”, said Kate with a frown. “What did he do? I don’t know Sebastian that well, but I can’t picture him doing anything illegal.”

“Unacceptable behavior”, continued the other woman in a hushed voice. “Don’t ask me how I know, but he was working on a big divorce case. This morning, the soon-to-be ex-husband found Sebastian in his bed with his super attractive client, the soon-to-be ex-wife. Imagine the scene! The husband stormed in here an hour ago, completely furious; he’s threatening to sue the firm and cause a scandal. The name partners want to get rid of Sebastian immediately.”

Both Kate and Kevin covered their eyes with the palm of their hands at the same time. Johnny hadn't said a word; he thought it best to let the office gossip finish her story, and see if she could leave them alone.

Kate stood up and started pacing up and down the room. “I can’t believe it. If this gets out it could cost the firm a dozen clients! That’s the most irresponsible, unethical, careless thing I’ve heard in–”

“At the client’s home? In broad daylight? Come on, Feldt is an idiot, at least they could have gone to a hotel or something!” interrupted Kevin.

Kate glared at her friend, irritated. “Kevin, sometimes you react to things like a heterosexual man would. I don’t like it, and it doesn’t suit you.”

“Sorry, Katey, I’m just saying…”

“The place where he got caught is not the problem”, she stated in a clipped tone, planting her hands on her desk and leaning over to stare closely at her friend. “Even the _fact_ that he got caught is not the problem.”

“I know, I know. He shouldn’t have gotten involved with his client it in the first place. God, what a mess.”

“Anyway, guys”, finished Virginia with an apologetic smile. “I just came to tell you that they want to see all the partners in the conference room in an hour. You’re going to have to vote Sebastian out.”

The woman left as quickly as she had arrived, to continue with her round through the partners’ offices. Kate stared again at Kevin and rolled her eyes.

“So much for that Ethics Code that you said was never enforced”, she said, very serious.

“It hasn’t been enforced in the two years I’ve been working here. They’re making an example out of Feldt because he was stupid and they caught him red-handed, that’s all. I guess it’s true that divorce lawyers bring out the worst in people. ”

Kate resumed her place at the table and looked at Johnny, who had remained seated in silence.

“Johnny, I… I really wish you hadn’t heard that. I guess this doesn’t improve your opinion about lawyers, right?”

“Hey, there are bad apples everywhere”, he snickered. “Look, if you need me to leave while you take care of this thing...”

“Absolutely not. We have almost an hour left before the partners’ meeting, that’s enough time to finish planning for the trial. Kevin, did you make those copies of the list of witnesses I gave you…?”

Johnny kept listening to Kate, listening to her going on about statements, contracts, witnesses and declarations. But he only had half a mind on it.

The other half was thinking that his chances with Kate had suddenly gone to shit.

He wasn’t going to get her fired, he would never forgive himself. It wasn’t fair to mess with her life just because he liked her more than any other woman he’d met in years. And if getting involved with Kate was going to cause her trouble with her bosses and that damned Ethics Code, then…

Johnny closed his fists under the desk to hide his frustration. A few minutes before there had been a happy image forming in his mind. A picture of Kate, Rattler, and him, sitting at a table in front of three huge cups of ice cream. Now the image faded slowly like an old postcard, lost its colors, and finally disappeared.

While Kate was his lawyer, there was absolutely nothing he could do.


	9. Networking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunday lazy Sunday, a day at the beach for the Cobra Kai kids. Kate finally meets Kevin’s boyfriend, and Johnny makes a sartorial decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m updating early this week, to compensate for the short hiatus that will happen in August. I’m super excited to start writing the next chapter, because I will finally leave the trial and all the legal stuff behind. There’s also a new collage picture; I thought a fabulous character like Kevin deserved a fabulous boyfriend, so the face claim for Oliver is the gorgeous Antoni Porowski. Enjoy!

 

CHAPTER 9. NETWORKING

“Robby, are you sure you don’t want to come? Aisha said that all three of us were invited. Even Demetri is coming, and he hates being in the sun.”

Robby looked at Samantha, shook his head and finished tying the belt on his gi.

“I need a day alone with my thoughts, Sam. That’s why I asked your Dad to let me use the home dojo today, so I could do some meditation on my own.”

“But it’s Sunday! What’s the point of working and training all week, if we can’t have some fun on our days off?”

“Yeah, some _fun_. Going to the beach with a bunch of people who can’t stand me. I’d be lucky if I got back in one piece.”

“No way, we’ll be there to defend you”, said Demetri. “I know enough embarrassing secrets about Eli to blackmail him once a day for the rest of his life; he will leave you alone.”

“Thanks, but… Hawk is not the one who worries me.”

Samantha let out an impatient huff. “Robby, if this is about Miguel, I told you I already talked to him, and he promised to behave. You met Aisha here at dinner a few weeks ago, and she was perfectly cool with you. And I don’t know the rest of them, but they can’t all be bad… right?”

“Promised to behave… right. And you believed him? What’s it worth, the promise of a Cobra?”

“Come on, dude! Eli told me they have two new girls there. I need you to be my wingman!” said Demetri, who knew about Grace and Sophie’s existence... but hadn’t been informed about their sentimental situation.

“Sorry, guys. Maybe some other time. Say hi to Aisha for me, okay?”

“Fine”, conceded Sam, grabbing her car keys from her purse. “But you’re off the hook only for today; next time you’re coming with us. Come on, Demetri. We don’t want to be late.”

Robby watched them get into the car and returned to the solitude of the dojo with a sigh. He had been tempted to go, of course. Since he had left high school and let go of his old friends, his circle consisted only of Sam… and, lately, Demetri. He was a stuck-up dork, exactly the kind of boy Robby would have mocked and teased to death a year before. But deep down he was a good guy.

As for the Cobras, meeting Aisha had been a nice surprise. Instead of the ferocious amazon he’d seen at the tournament, she was incredibly sweet and shy in person… at least while Sam was present.

Sam. That was another one of the reasons he had decided not to go to the beach meetup. He had followed her rule, the ‘just friends’ thing, and he was doing everything in his power to rationalize his attraction to her and not act on it. Sure, she was cool and smart and hot as hell, but he knew she didn’t like him that way. Robby had had a bunch of girlfriends in high school, and he knew perfectly well when a girl was fawning over him; they did that thing with their lashes, and touched their hair too many times, and smiled without realizing they were smiling. Sam did none of those things when she was with him… she only thought of that damned Cobra dweeb, no matter how much she tried to deny it.

That got him thinking about his own feelings, too. Would he still like Sam the same way if she was one of the girls in North Hills High, and not his Sensei’s daughter? How much of her attractive was _her_ , and how much was the way of life he envied and desired so much? Did he really like her for herself… or for her family?

He picked a candle holder and a box of matches from a drawer, sat cross-legged on the floor, lit the candle and tried to concentrate his turmoil of thoughts on the dancing flame.

Achieving balance was proving to be way harder than he’d thought.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, the Cobra boys and girls had already arrived to the beach. The noisy bunch got off the bus and took positions close to the water. It wasn’t the whole dojo, only a few of the older kids: Miguel, Aisha, Hawk (with Moon, of course, because they were still joined at the hip), Ryan, Frank… and Grace and Sophie, of course. In fact, the whole idea of spending a day on the beach had been Aisha’s way of welcoming the two girls into the group officially.

They had a cooler with food, most of it made by Miguel’s grandmother, and another one with juice and soda. Hawk had mentioned that he wanted to use his fake ID to buy beer, but he had been immediately silenced by a death glare from Miguel.

They had just decided on what music to play, when two figures got out of a car and walked towards the group. Aisha greeted them with her best smile.

“Sam! I’m so glad you’re here!” she said, hugging her friend. “Hey, Demetri.”

“Hey, you”, answered the boy. “Look, not that I’m scared of your gang or anything, but… there are several people I don’t know over there, and I’m not good socializing with people I don’t know. Maybe Sam and I should stay away.”

“Nah, they’re just kids from the dojo”, said Aisha, noticing a few curious looks from the Cobras. “Hey, guys, pay attention, these are my friends Sam and Demetri! Sam, the four people you guys don’t know are Frank here, Ryan over there… and these are Grace and Sophie. They’re new.”

All the kids smiled and waved as their names were being called. Sam waved back, and then turned towards Aisha.

“Hey, you told me there was only one girl in Cobra Kai apart from you... a little girl. How come there’s two more all of a sudden?”

“Oh, they appeared a couple of weeks ago. Grace is very good, she was an athlete before getting into karate, and she’s got a hang on the moves already. Sophie is more of a weakling, but nobody cares because she’s lovely and super fun to be around.”

Sam looked at the two girls with ill dissimulated suspicion. They were sitting on their towels right beside Miguel, who had acknowledged Sam’s presence only with a distracted ‘hi’. The girls were already in her bikinis, and Sam couldn’t help a pang of envy when she saw Grace’s athletic body; she wasn’t the only one to notice her, though.

“Oh my stars, she’s like Beyonce’s other little sister”, muttered Demetri, completely starstruck.

“Yeah, but you should stop gawking at her now”, answered Aisha with a laugh. “If she catches you looking she’s gonna kick your ass.”

“That… that suddenly doesn’t sound like a bad idea. She’ll need to get close to me to kick my ass, right?”

“Oh, do shut up. Come, put your towels here next to mine, guys.”

One of the kids, Frank, opened the bigger cooler and started distributing cans of soda, until Miguel elbowed Hawk in the ribs.

“Hey, Hawk, where’s the ice?”

“What ice?” asked Hawk, who was extremely busy playing with the fringe of Moon’s short beach dress.

“The one you were supposed to buy before getting here, dumbo! I messaged you last night to remind you, now the drinks are going to get warm.”

“Oops”, was Hawk’s only answer before he resumed the close inspection of his girlfriend’s clothes.

Miguel rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Fine, I’ll go get some. Dude, I swear that blue dye you use for your hair is frying your brain cells.” He surveyed the group in search for help; for a second or two he thought of asking Sam to go to the shop with him, but something stopped him right on time.

He had a better idea. Also, a slightly meaner one.

“Hey, Sophie!” he called. “We’re out of ice, I’m going to the mini mart on the promenade to get some. Wanna help me?”

“Yeah, sure! Let me get my sandals on, the sand is burning”, answered the girl with a sweet smile. That was one of the reasons everybody liked her, she was always eager to help.

Out of the corner of his eye Miguel observed Sam’s reaction. Or, rather, her non-reaction, because she suddenly looked serious and quiet like a statue. He turned to Sophie again.

“Piggyback ride to the promenade? You won’t need your sandals if your feet don’t touch the ground…”

“That’s a brilliant idea!” she laughed. “Ready?”

She took aim and jumped on the boy’s back, hanging onto his neck. Miguel started running across the beach, laughing and throwing sand in all directions.

Sam observed the scene from afar. She had been sincerely happy for Aisha when she heard there were girls in Cobra Kai… she just hadn’t imagined them as Tinker Bell and Mini-Beyonce. She put her sunglasses on to try and hide her irritation, grabbed a soda and closed the lid of the cooler making way more noise than necessary.

It took Miguel and Sophie less than ten minutes to come back with two huge bags of ice. Miguel was carrying both of them; he had taken off his shirt, and his wiry muscles tensed under his dark skin. Sam realized she was staring, but she just couldn’t look away. Miguel had never been the cocky type… why was he putting on a show for that girl? She pressed the cool soda can against her cheek to calm the burning sensation, and concentrated on talking to Moon and Aisha. She didn’t want to keep looking at him.

There was someone else in the group observing Miguel; and not just him, also Samantha and her subtle vigilance maneuvers. When the ice had been distributed among the coolers, Grace grabbed the boy’s arm and took him aside, out of ear’s reach.

“Diaz, are you using my girlfriend to make that Samantha girl jealous?”

“What? No! I asked Sophie to come with me, but I could have asked… anybody else. You, for instance.”

“Okay. So you were also thinking about using _me_ to make your ex-girlfriend jealous.”

“It’s not my fault that she chooses to feel that way! Just because I’m innocently talking to another girl–”

“Innocently, sure. Did you tell her that Sophie and I are a couple? I bet she doesn't know.”

Finally Miguel had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. “Ah…  she didn’t ask.”

At this point, Grace couldn’t help a burst of laughter. “Man, you straight people are weird! Why don’t you just go over there and talk to her? Tell her how you feel, instead of playing silly games from the distance!”

“Yeah, as if it was so easy! Look, Sam and I have history. She already knows how I feel, but… she doesn’t want to date anybody for the whole Summer. I’m just giving her something to think about until school starts.”

The girl punched his arm; she did it playfully, but it still hurt. “You’re a dog, Diaz. Fine, I won’t tell your beloved Samantha that Sophie is not interested in you at all. But you owe me one, stud.”

“I’m forever in your debt, my lady.”

“I’m glad you say that. On the next day of practice you’ll teach me that side kick that sent Ryan flying across the mat the other day. Do that and we’re even. And the pantomime is just for today, do you hear me? Next time we see that girl I’m going to kiss Sophie in front of her so she knows we’re together.”

Miguel bowed to Grace in a mockery of a curtsey, and returned to the place where the group was. He picked up a couple of sandwiches and offered one to Aisha, who was sitting alone because Sam and Moon had just gone to the water.

“Sandwich? Avocado chicken, my Yaya made them and they’re great.”

“Thanks”, said the girl, unwrapping it carefully. “I saw what you did there, by the way. Bit of a dick move if you ask me... You’re lucky that Grace found it funny, or she would have given you a bloody nose.”

“Nah, Grace knows I would never hit on Sophie, we’re cool. And why do you care anyway?” Miguel took a bite of his sandwich. It had a lot of mustard, and he ended up licking the sauce off his fingers.

“I care because you and Sam are both my friends, and those little games of making her jealous can only lead to more problems. I can’t believe you haven’t learned anything since last year. Ew, do you have to be so messy when you eat?”

“Sorry”, he answered, trying not to speak with his mouth full. “Look, if Keene was here Sam would be doing the same thing with him to make me mad. It’s just a bit of payback… and, anyway, it’s not like I’m sworn to being celibate until she finally decides on one of us.”

He looked at Aisha, expecting another scolding comment from her, but the girl just kept staring at him.

“What? What did I say now?”

Aisha left her sandwich on her lap and cleared her throat. “Boy, you’re not gonna like this one bit… but I’ve got to tell you something.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I met Keene a couple of weeks ago.”

Miguel stopped chewing, and his eyes widened in disbelief. “What?”

“And he’s… kind of okay, I guess.”

“What?”

“Oh, stop repeating that like a parrot!” she said, giving the boy a light slap on the back of the head. “Sam invited me to dinner at her parents’, and Keene was there. He didn't talk much, I think he was a bit scared of me.”

“Well, he should be scared.”

“Let me finish or you’ll get another one! Anyway, I thought Keene would be all cocky and stuff, but he’s a nice guy. You better get used to the idea that you’ll have to talk to him someday, and not with your fists.”

“Yeah... I don’t see that happening.”

“There’s still a lot of Summer ahead of us. What if we come to the beach again and he decides to join us? Or if he comes to the dojo one day to see Sensei Lawrence? And hey, what if you get back with Sam? You’ll have to meet her parents at some point, and Robby hangs out at her house a lot.”

“Oh, he’s _Robby_ now?”, asked Miguel with a disgusted pout. “Since when are you so chummy with him?”

“Don’t be daft! Do you think Sensei Lawrence would be happy with you hating his son?”

“No... I guess not”, he answered, lowering his head.  “But I didn’t know who he was, not until you told me after the tournament. The damage is done. I can’t just go to LaRusso’s dojo one day, say hi and ask Keene to hang out, can I? He hates my guts, too.”

“One step at a time. Just focus on not wanting to kill him too much.”

“I don’t want to kill him! I don’t want anything bad to happen to him... I just want him to disappear from my life. And from Sam’s life.”

“Well, tough luck. Get it into your thick head, that’s not gonna happen. Robby is Sensei’s son, so he’s a part of his life. And that makes him part of _our_ lives, too, like it or not.”

Miguel hid his face in his hands and groaned.

“This is great. Just great. The way things are going, any day Sensei Lawrence will make peace with Sam’s Dad, he’ll go teach over there and leave us.”

“And people say girls are dramatic!” sighed Aisha. “Is that what scares you so much? That Sensei Lawrence will leave Cobra Kai? That he will leave _you_?”

“I’m not scared”, the boy said with a tiny voice.

“Bullshit”, she spat.

Miguel went silent and sulky again, and Aisha threw him a compassionate look. “You know Sensei would never do that, Mig. You were his first student, and you’ll always be his favorite student… no matter how much of a jerk you become when Sam is present.”

“Hey! Nice way to talk to a friend!”

“Good friends are the ones who call you out on your shit when you fuck up! And now come, stop moping and let’s go with the others.”

She got up and walked towards the rest of the group. All the kids, including Sam and Demetri, had formed a circle with their towels, and they were playing cards and laughing.

“Hey, Aisha!” called Miguel.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for the pep talk.” The boy raised his can of Coke towards her in an improvised toast. “Here’s to good friends.”

* * *

 

At the same time the Cobra Kai kids were cautiously expanding their circle of friends on the beach, Kate had also met someone new.

She and Kevin were sitting at the dining room table of her apartment, enjoying some iced coffee after lunch. A few feet away, on the carpet, Rani and a handsome young man were engaged in a frenzied game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. Rani had let out her competitive side in full force, and she was cheering and laughing so loud that it made any attempt of conversation impossible.

“Rani, sweetheart, use your inside voice”, Kate reminded her with a smile. “You can’t scream at poor Oliver like that, he’s our guest!”

“He cheated!” answered the little girl, operating the levers on the board with uncanny speed.

“Did not!” protested Oliver, completely hunched over his green mechanical hippopotamus.

“Did too!”

“Oliver, darling, I can’t believe you have the emotional maturity of an eight-year-old girl”, interrupted Kevin. “Can’t you let Rani win in peace?”

“Either you two find a more pacific way to play, or I’m taking the game away”, said Kate, trying to make herself heard among the ruckus.

Right in that moment, Rani’s pink hippo managed to catch the last ball on the board, and she punched the air and let out a happy victory yell. Oliver had no other choice than to raise his hands and admit defeat.

“Wanna play again?” asked Rani, who had won eight games out of ten.

“I think that’s enough for today”, said Kate. “Rani, why don’t you go to your room and get that sketchbook you were showing me yesterday? I’m sure Oliver and Kevin will love to see your drawings.”

The girl nodded and ran to her bedroom, while the young man beside her got up from the floor with a graceful leap and sat at the table beside the other two adults.

“Wow, I didn’t know this game was so exhausting! I won’t be needing my aerobics class tomorrow, I think I just lost two pounds”, he said, pouring himself a tall glass of iced coffee.

Kevin looked at him fondly. “Well, the purpose of today’s lunch was that my boyfriend, my best friend and my almost-niece got to know each other, and judging by that game I think it’s been a success. Although a very noisy one.”

“Of course! Kate, your daughter is amazing”, said Oliver with a happy smile. "She's a firecracker."

“I agree”, she answered. “And I’m really glad to finally meet you too, Oliver. You know, Kevin has been singing your praises since I moved to the Valley last month.”

“Aw, thanks, boo!” exclaimed Oliver, resting his head on Kevin’s shoulder. “And what about you, Kate? Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Well, I haven’t had a lot of time for–”

“Not yet, but ask her again in a couple of weeks and you may get a different answer”, interrupted Kevin with a knowing smile.

Kate stared at her friend and sighed.

“Drop it, Kevin. Please.”

Seeing that his innocent question had changed the atmosphere in the room, Oliver made an effort to change the topic.

“So... Kevin told me things are a bit tense at your office this week.”

“ _Tense_ is one way to put it. Everybody’s walking on eggshells because of what happened with Feldt the other day… And the name partners are watching us like hawks. Especially Mrs. Morgan; she already behaved like a boarding school matron, but now she’s gone full-on prison matron.”

“Give it a few days and it will pass”, said Kevin the eternal optimist.

The sound of running feet coming down the corridor announced Rani’s return, carrying a large sketchbook under her arm. She sat at the table and opened it on the first page, adorned with a colorful drawing.

“Oh, that’s very pretty! Did you make all these?” asked Oliver.

“Yes, I draw almost every day”, answered the girl, turning the pages one by one. “Look, this is the first one I made when we moved; it’s our apartment building, with the two palm trees in front, and the sign that says _South Seas_. The letters are wonky but Mom said it doesn’t matter because it’s artistic. This other one is my friend Millie, she doesn’t live here but her granny does, next door, and she comes to visit her almost every day. She has really pretty blond hair. And this is the swimming pool, I drew Mom and me swimming in it.”

“Those are really good, munchkin”, encouraged Kevin. “And what are you going to draw next?”

Rani kept flipping pages until she got to the blank ones, and pointed to the white surface.

“Here is where I’m going to draw the things I’ll do at the urban camp tomorrow.”

Both Kevin and Oliver looked at Kate for an explanation.

“The County of Los Angeles is organizing urban camps for children all Summer”, she clarified. “A bus comes and picks them up in the morning, and they organize all kinds of outdoor activities until lunchtime. Rani has been staying with her aunt and uncle every morning while I’m at work... And I don’t want to impose on them for too long, so I thought the camp would be a good way to keep her entertained until school starts. They’re going to do a lot of fun things, right, sweetie? They will go to museums, and parks, and… I think I read something about a visit to a candy factory.”

“Yes! And the best part is that my friend Millie will come too”, said Rani, her smile becoming even wider. “And after lunch I still get to go to Cobra Kai every day.”

“If you do karate the same way you play Hungry Hippos, you must be a really tough fighter!” said Oliver, impressed.

“Not as tough as my friend Aisha, she’s the strongest girl in my class”, answered Rani, very serious. “Miguel is really strong too, he always wins when we’re sparring. But nobody is as tough as Sensei Lawrence, he’s the best! When Sensei was in high school, that was a lot of years ago before I was born, he won the All Valley Championship two years in a row. He trains every day, even on Saturdays and Sundays when we’re not at the dojo. Mom, I’m going to get my tablet and show Oliver the videos from the championship!”

She closed the sketchbook and disappeared from sight again, running like always.

Kevin raised an eyebrow. “What was that thing Joan Jett and the Blackhearts sang… _Everybody needs a hero,_ right?”

Kate shifted in her seat, slightly uncomfortable. “And that’s another reason why I want Rani to go to that camp. The only boy in Cobra Kai close to her age range is Bert, and he’s a sweet child... but she needs to be with other kids her age. All that hero worship is only healthy up to a point.”

“It won’t hurt Rani to have a male role model to look up to.”

“She’s supposed to have my brother Hugh for that.” Kate looked at her friend intently. “Do you honestly think Johnny Lawrence is a perfect role model for her?”

“Wasn’t it Voltaire who said that _Perfect is the enemy of good_?”

“Voltaire never had children, Kev. And I have all the faith in the world in Johnny... when it comes to his abilities as a karate teacher. As for the rest, I don’t know him enough to have an opinion.” With those words, she stood up and started taking the dirty dishes to the sink.

At this point in the conversation, Oliver seemed completely lost. He exchanged a glance with Kevin, who answered with an ‘I’ll tell you later’ gesture before following his friend to the kitchen.

“Give it time, Katey. It may be worth knowing him better.”

“I’m his lawyer, remember? I can’t think of that now, not until after the trial. And the appeal, if there is one… and that could take months. Besides, fraternizing with clients is not exactly a popular pastime in our firm these days, no matter how much you try to push me into it.”

“Ah, I thought you hadn’t caught wind of my wicked schemes”, said Kevin, twirling an imaginary moustache.

Kate closed the door of the dishwasher and threw a playful jab at her friend.

“I can always see you coming a mile away. And, since we’re in the business of quoting popular philosophers, let me tell you something Donna said in the Mamma Mia movie, something that I repeat to myself every day: I’m free, I’m single... and it’s great!”

* * *

 

Johnny turned on the air conditioning in his living room and returned to the couch. He picked up the portfolio next to him and opened it on the place where a post-it note was acting as an improvised bookmark.

Kate and Kevin had given him some notes to study: the questions they would be asking him at the trial, and also some things they thought Zarkarian’s lawyers could ask. He and the florist lady from the strip mall were going to be the only two witnesses. Kate had insisted that the contract and the paperwork were more important than his declaration, so there was no way he could fuck things up. All he had to do was show up, wear a suit, look respectable and be nice to the judge, who apparently was going to be some cranky old lady.

Johnny let out a long sigh. He had been trying to concentrate on the trial stuff all day, with depressing results.

The words were not the problem. Studying had been easy for him, back in his high school days. He even did quite well during his first and only year at Stanford, right before his life went straight to Hell. No, the real problem was that he couldn’t focus on the fucking papers without thinking of the woman who had written them. The series of images ran through his mind like one of those silent movies from the 1920s: Kate arriving at the dojo for the first time; Kate in her office, sitting at that absurd desk that was too big for her; Kate at the door of Cobra Kai, opening her arms and smiling at Rattler while the kid ran to her after class.

But then the movie became distorted, there came other images that weren’t real, but drilled into Johnny’s mind anyway. Kate leaving her fancy office building with a cardboard box in her hands, looking at him with hatred and disgust; Johnny standing in front of the Cobra Kai kids, like always... but not exactly like always because there was an empty space right there in the front row, where Rattler used to be.

Pounding his fist on the table, Johnny stood up and went to the fridge. It was almost dinner time, and he had managed to avoid drinking all day. He grabbed a beer and a bowl of leftover potato salad and returned to the couch; but before he could get back to reading the file, another thought came to him. He rushed to his bedroom and opened the closet door. At least there were more clothes on the hangers than on the floor, he had tried to keep his place in order lately. His only suit was there, the one he had worn a few months before to the All Valley committee meeting, and Johnny examined the worn and wrinkled fabric with a frown.

He had cared about those things once, back in the days when going to the country club with his mother and Sid had been a weekly thing. The preppiest boy with the best clothes, the one who spent all his allowance on trying to look his best, that had been him… an eternity ago.

Johnny held his ugly green tie in his hand, and he couldn't help thinking of Kate’s friend. Kevin with his multicolored ties that looked like an acid trip, his matching waistcoats, and his suits that were probably custom made. That man had to be the best dressed lawyer in Los Angeles… and Johnny was going to look like a bum sitting next to him at the trial, in a second-hand jacket that had seen a couple decades of better days.

That’s when the idea came to him. Well, to be precise, two ideas, and one was the gateway to the other. He pulled the suit from its hanger, and with it the tie and the yellow shirt; he made a bundle with all three things, went to the kitchen and threw everything into a plastic bag before sitting on the couch again with a self-satisfied smile.

At least he had a plan now. A plan that could backfire on him spectacularly, but Johnny knew it was a risk he had to take.

_Strike hard._

He picked up his phone, searched among the papers until he found a business card, and dialed the number on it.

“Kevin, it’s Johnny Lawrence”, he said to the voice on the other side of the line. “Sorry, man, I know it’s Sunday, but… yeah, I’m here with the legal papers and all that stuff, but I’m not calling about that. Listen, there’s something I’ve got to do next week after the trial, and… I need your help.”


	10. Justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial on the Cobra Kai rent takes place. But a chance encounter at a restaurant threatens to spoil Johnny's day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the two that will come after it happen on the same day, and they’re all part of the same super long scene. While I was writing it, I realized all the characters were talking too much, and it was going to end up being too long, so I split the original chapter 10 in two. The result of all that is good for my readers, I hope: there will be one update today and another one tomorrow, as soon as I finish doing some edits. I also want to have chapter 12 ready for next Thursday, right before my vacation (fingers crossed!). 
> 
> A million thanks to TheEmpressAR who convinced me make it two chapters and not dump 6000 words at the same time on my poor readers!

CHAPTER 10. JUSTICE

_‘All rise for the Honorable Judge Muller!’_

_‘Plaintiff's counsel may present her case.’_

_‘The matter is all contained within the transcript…’_

_‘A motion to dismiss has no basis here, gentlemen.’_

_‘… and the Affordable Housing act is very explicit on that point…’_

_‘You may may call your first witness, Miss Williams.’_

_‘First we call Mr. John Lawrence…’_

_‘The defendant’s counsel is mischaracterizing the witness’ testimony.’_

_‘… the defendant rests, Your Honor. We have no further questions.’_

_‘Your Honor, we call Mrs. Abigail Atkins as our last witness.’_

_‘Objection sustained. The defendant will avoid the use of that metaphor.’_

_‘Speak into the microphone, please.’_

_‘... and I had to close the flower shop…’_

_‘You may cross-examine, counsel...’_

_‘Objection. The witness is narrating...’_

_‘Mr. Zarkarian, if you address the plaintiff’s attorney on those terms again I will declare you in contempt of court.’_

_‘May we have a short recess?’_

_‘… therefore, in my closing argument, I will remind Her Honor…’_

_‘Furthermore, this court awards punitive damages in the amount of…’_

_‘This is my ruling and judgment in respect of the defendant's' application. Have a good day, everybody.’_

_Bang._

The sound of the judge’s gavel echoed in Johnny’s ears for several seconds after he left the courtroom. He never thought he would like that sound so much.

Beside him, his two lawyers hugged, congratulating each other on the win. Kevin gave him a friendly pat on the back, but Johnny still couldn’t bring himself to hug Kate. He didn’t trust his self-control if he did that.

They all exited the building together, avoiding the incensed looks of Johnny’s landlord, who was pacing up and down the courthouse corridor berating his team of lawyers at the top of his voice. Johnny didn’t even look at him. Despite Kate’s reassurance, he hadn’t been sure of winning the lawsuit until the judge pronounced her ruling, and he was still too surprised to gloat about it.

He checked his watch while they went down the stairs of the courthouse. The trial had started at ten, and it was barely past noon… All his money problems miraculously solved in little more than two hours. Everything had been so fast, he even felt a bit dizzy.

“Congratulations, madam counselor!” exclaimed Kevin as soon as they were on the street. “Now, I believe a victory like this one deserves a celebration… right, Johnny?”

He nodded and looked at Kate, who seemed equally happy but less enthusiastic about celebrating.

“I don’t know, Kev. It’s too early for Martinis. We should go back to the office, I have a meeting at three thirty.”

“That’s almost three hours away, come on. Let’s go have lunch; you still have to eat, right? There’s a great restaurant next to our office building, and the firm has a permanent reservation. Not waiting for a table is a luxury even you can’t refuse”, he finished with a wink.

“Well, I guess I can spare an hour for lunch… What about you, Johnny? Do you need to leave right now?”

“Nah, I don’t have to open the dojo until four today”, he answered, loosening the knot on his tie. “And, the truth is, I’m starving.”

“Perfect! Let me call an Uber and we’ll go straight there”, said Kevin.

While they waited for the car to arrive, Kate observed Johnny surreptitiously. She had been the one who advised him to appear in court in a suit, but somehow he had managed to look so different from his usual self that he almost didn’t seem like the same man. The man who spent half his time in jeans and a t-shirt, and the other half in a karate gi.

The blue suit was unmistakably new and incredibly stylish, and Kate wondered if Kevin (and his personal shopper boyfriend) had had anything to do with it. But it was impossible… right? Johnny would never ask for Kevin’s help out of the blue.

The only thing that hadn’t changed was Johnny’s stance. He stood on the sidewalk with his feet apart, his hands in his pockets, and that crooked smile… Kate realized she was staring, and pretended to look at the road. She was starting to feel flushed, like that day she had spoken to Johnny at the door of Cobra Kai, and this time she knew she couldn’t blame the heat.

A short Uber ride later, they arrived at their destination. Scratch Bar & Kitchen was one of the hottest places to eat in Encino, a spacious and modern restaurant decorated in a rustic style.

The host recognized Kevin immediately, because many of his fellow partners celebrated their victories there, and they were led to a spacious table that overlooked a patio full of plants and trees. The host went to pull Kate’s chair out for her, but Johnny stopped him with a determined look and did it himself. Maybe he hadn’t been to a fancy place like that in a long time, but all those years of country club dinners and expensive restaurants were hard to forget. It had been one of the few good things to come from Sid’s money.

They had just started looking at their menus, when Kevin’s phone let out a series of annoying beeps. He stared at the screen, frowning, and left his menu on the table.

“Guys, I’m going to take this outside. It’s a client, and judging by his texts he may be in deep trouble. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Kate nodded and smiled at Johnny, who was sitting right next to her.

“Do you like the place?”

“Yeah, it’s nice. Not exactly my usual joint, but… I don’t care much as long as the food’s good.”

“I’ve heard it’s fantastic.” she looked around her, admiring the soft colors and picturesque art pieces that decorated the walls. “And I just realized it’s been months since the last time I went to a restaurant that wasn’t full of people with children. I think I’ve tasted the kid’s menu of every chain restaurant in California… It’s a nice change to be in a more adult space for once.”

Before Johnny could answer, Kevin appeared again, with a worried look on his face.

“Oh, this day was going too peachy to be true, guys. I have to run back to the office… I’m so sorry to miss lunch, but you’ll have to manage without me.”

“We haven’t even ordered, Kev. Are you sure you don’t need me to go with you? Maybe I can help…”

“Don’t you dare tear your lovely bottom off that chair, missy! This is your celebration lunch, you’ve earned it. Johnny, promise me you won’t let her leave until she’s had lunch. And dessert.”

Johnny nodded. “Understood.”

Kevin picked up his briefcase, waved them goodbye with a flourish and headed towards the door, where a number of people without a reservation had already started to line up for a table.

“Won’t Mr. McMichaels accompany us today?” asked the waiter, who had just arrived with the wine menu.

“He’s had a call from work”, answered Johnny, taking the menu that the young man was offering him and studying it for a moment. “We’ll have the Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. If that’s okay with you, of course”, he said, looking at Kate.

“It’s… it’s perfect”, she answered, raising an eyebrow in surprise. She waited until the waiter had left and then continued. “I thought you were more of a beer man.”

“Pinot Noir was my mother’s favorite. I think it’s the only wine I like.”

There was a note of sadness in his voice when he mentioned his mother. Kate supposed the woman had passed, maybe recently, but she didn’t want to make him talk about it and spoil his lunch. Instead, she decided quickly what she wanted to eat, closed her menu and distracted herself watching the people around her, while Johnny looked at the list of dishes.

Kate’s seat was facing the entrance of the restaurant, and she saw that the line of waiting customers was getting longer. And more impatient, she thought, noticing an elegantly dressed woman who was arguing with the host in a polite but very firm tone. She couldn’t hear all the words, but it was something about a reservation for the wrong date, and a missed email, and… The woman turned to speak to the suited-up man beside her, and Kate’s eyes widened in recognition.

She had seen that man’s face before. On a billboard.

Almost instinctively, her hand shot out and landed on Johnny’s sleeve; he looked at her, intrigued.

“Anything wrong?”

Kate braced herself mentally for whatever was going to happen next, took a deep breath and stared into his eyes.

“Johnny… do you believe in fate?”

“Not really.”

She rolled her eyes. Of course he didn’t believe in anything so abstract.

“Fine. Let me try again: do you believe in making shit happen?”

“That’s more up my alley”, answered Johnny, amused by Kate’s unusual language. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Not exactly, but… look over there, right by the door.”

Johnny’s face fell, and his eyes became two blue icicles.

“Shit. Of all the restaurants in the Valley.”

“It looks like they don’t have a reservation”, observed Kate. “That woman was just arguing with the host a second ago.”

“That’s his wife.”

“With all those people before them, they’ll have to wait at least an hour to be seated.”

“Serves him right”, muttered Johnny under his breath.

Kate didn’t say anything; she looked at Johnny, then at the couple by the door, and then at Johnny again, and she had an air of steely determination around her. Johnny had seen her exactly like that a couple of hours before, in court.

“I think you should invite them to join us.”

Johnny blinked a couple of times. The individual words had meaning, but the sentence they formed was suddenly hard to understand.

“What?”

“This is a table for four! Why not ask them to have lunch with us?”

Johnny looked at the woman at his side as if she had suddenly gone insane.

“You want me to invite LaRusso to our table? What for?”

“To bury the hatchet! Or at least throw some soil over it. Look, if you’re nice to him it will make you look good in front of your son. You have the chance to be the better man, for once. I bet he’ll be too polite to say no… and too hungry, the food here is delicious.”

Johnny sighed, reminding himself not to pout. The prospects of an intimate lunch with Kate were becoming less intimate every second; and of course it was once more LaRusso’s fault... Once again it looked like that fucking man was on Earth with the sole purpose of making his life difficult.

“Why are you so interested in having lunch with him?”

“Well... to begin with, I’m curious. After all the horror stories you’ve told me about that man, I want to meet him and see if they’re true. And remember that if it wasn’t for him and his little mind games with your landlord, you and me wouldn’t be sitting here now. But if it’s going to be too uncomfortable for you, there’s no need...”

She didn’t finish the sentence, because Johnny was already standing up and walking towards the entrance of the restaurant.

* * *

  
Daniel’s day had started on a really good note.

The sales numbers for the second trimester were in, and they were much better than expected. His accountant had actually told him that, if things kept going so well, he would be able to retire in five years. Not that he wanted to… everybody knew he enjoyed his job too much. But lately, the idea of letting someone else handle the dealerships for a while and concentrate on Miyagi-Do had been tempting him.

In any case, it was a cause for celebration. He had emailed Amanda’s favorite restaurant first thing in the morning to make a reservation… a reservation that, due to some silly confusion and a poorly redacted message, had been registered for the wrong date. He stood feeling useless while Amanda tried to reason with the host, but there was just no way to fix it, every table at Scratch was occupied. They would have to wait at the bar for… however long it took, or find another place for lunch, and he hated disappointing Amanda like that.

He let out a frustrated sigh and whipped out his phone, to text Robby and tell the boy that he and Amanda would be late to work that afternoon. After all, he’d been expecting a nice, quiet lunch with his wife, and he wasn’t going to let some absurd mistake ruin his day.

Then, the sound of someone clearing his throat behind him made him freeze in his place.

Daniel knew that voice, of course. He’d had nightmares with that voice in high school. For a moment he closed his eyes and wished the hallucination away… because it had to be just that, right? There was no way it could be real.

He finally managed to turn around, and of course there he was. His nemesis, no longer looking like a semi-homeless person like he usually did. His nightmare, in a smart suit he could swear was Armani. His _bête noire_ , looking happy and confident like the Johnny Lawrence he had seen all those years ago at the country club.

Exactly the version of Johnny Lawrence that made his teenage anxiety come back and his hair stand on end.

Now Amanda had seen Johnny too, and she greeted him with her usual cheerful smile. Always one for public relations, Amanda. Daniel’s ears had started ringing, and he didn’t come back to reality until he realized Johnny was speaking to him.

“…we have a table for four over there. You’re welcome to join us for lunch.”

Daniel blinked, dumbfounded, while his brain started shooting questions. What was Johnny doing at a swank restaurant in Encino? Why the suit? Who was this ‘us’ he kept referring to? Why had his perfect day suddenly turned into a nightmare?

He was vaguely aware of Johnny pointing to a table next to the patio, a table with a pretty woman in a burgundy dress sitting at it. After a couple of seconds he got his voice back, or at least most of it.

“Actually, we were just about to leave…”, he started.

“No, we’re not!” interrupted Amanda. “Come on, you’ve been wanting to have lunch here for weeks… Thank you, Johnny, we’d love to join you and your friend.”

Daniel felt Amanda grabbing his arm and leading him to the table. Another lost battle.

The woman in burgundy stood up. She looked nice, and Daniel couldn’t help wondering if she was the architect of Johnny’s apparent transformation.

“This is Kate Williams, my lawyer. Kate, these are Daniel and Amanda LaRusso.”

“Hi! It’s really nice to meet you”, she said with a warm smile, shaking hands with both of them.

Johnny pulled out her chair again when they sat down. They sat so Kate was facing Amanda, and he was facing Daniel, who had finally recovered his wits.

“So... what did you do to need a lawyer this time, Johnny? Got into another fight on the streets?”

Johnny’s lips tensed in a tight line, but Kate saw the effect Daniel’s words were having and intervened to defuse the situation.

“Actually, the Tenants Association of the Victory Boulevard Strip Mall, of which Johnny is president, sued their landlord last month for breaching the Affordable Housing Act. We had the trial this morning, and… well, we’re here at Scratch having lunch and drinking wine, so you can guess how well it went.”

“Congratulations, Johnny”, said Daniel in a bitter tone. “Another win under your belt.”

Johnny smirked, and then turned towards Kate.

“You were the one who argued the case. The win is yours, Kate.”

“Yes, but you were the one who charmed the judge”, added Kate, causing a smug smile to appear on Johnny’s face. “I’ve never seen the Honorable Paula Muller be so nice to a witness before. That woman has been terrorizing attorneys for the last forty years!”

“Okay, I give you that one. But you almost got Zarkarian removed from the courtroom with your little annoying questions that made him lose his cool. That was on purpose, right?”

“It was Kevin’s idea”, said Kate with a wicked glint in her eye. “I only wanted to rile him up a little and make him nervous... but when he called me a bitch in front of the judge I knew there was no way we could lose.”

“He did what?” interjected Daniel. He knew Armand’s manners were uncouth, but insulting a woman was just too much, even for him.

“Oh, I can be extremely irritating when I put my mind to it”, said Kate in her sweetest voice. “I learned it at Law School.”

Right in that moment, the waiter appeared holding four flute glasses and a wine cooler that he left on the table.

“Mr. Lawrence, we just got a call from Mr. McMichaels. He asks you and Miss Williams to accept this bottle of Prosecco as an apology for his absence. Are you ready to order, or shall I come back later?”

“Just a minute, thank you”, Kate said to the obsequious young man. “Well, that’s a nice surprise. What’s a celebration without some bubbles?”

“Exactly what I always say!” answered Amanda. “A glass of really cold Prosecco can do miracles. So… Kate, you just mentioned Law School, and that reminded me that I almost became a lawyer myself. But in the last moment I chickened out and went for Business Management instead.”

“Oh, no! What made you change your mind? I’m sure you would have made a great lawyer.”

“My Dad, mostly. He always said lawyers are like rats, and he didn’t want his daughter to become one.”

“I get it, really”, said Kate with a laugh. “Both my parents are college professors; they always expected me to be an academic too, and I’ll never forget the terror in their faces when I told them I had applied to Law School. Actually, _rat_ is a compliment compared to some of the things people have called me and my colleagues over the years.”

“I may be guilty of some of those”, Daniel intervened. “Let’s just say that I’ve met some shady lawyers a couple of times. Anyway, you wouldn’t believe the things they say of people in the automobile business. Hearing someone calling us rats would be like music to my ears.”

“Well… I, in turn, have met some shady car salesmen a couple of times, and I’ve probably called them worse things in my head. So… in the rodent front, I think we’re even”, finished Kate.

She observed the three people around her with caution. Amanda was probably one of the nicest people she had ever met, and she knew they had clicked immediately. As for Daniel, well… the fact that he had started the conversation attacking Johnny with his little joke about getting in a street fight wasn’t very nice. But at least Johnny didn’t look upset, not too much.

Maybe having lunch with the LaRussos could end up being a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're guessing there will be some drama at the restaurant in the next chapter, you're guessing right. Daniel is a man who can do many things, but keeping his mouth shut is not one of them...


	11. Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old habits die hard. Things get a little hostile between Johnny and Daniel during lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, as promised, the conclusion of the scene at the restaurant. Enjoy the showdown.

CHAPTER 11. SHOWDOWN

Kate had been more or less right. Lunch with Johnny’s high school enemy and his wife had been a really good idea...

At least for the first twenty minutes.

The appetizers arrived shortly after they ordered them, followed by some delicious main courses, and food proved to be a welcome distraction. Johnny and Daniel let the women carry the weight of the conversation, a good thing because Kate and Amanda found out that they had a lot of things in common.

They both had played team sports in high school (roller derby for Kate, volleyball for Amanda), and when the conversation turned to their college years they discovered with surprise that they had both attended Notre Dame, although they had never met because Kate was a couple of years older.

“I can’t believe it, we were on that campus at the same time! Did you live in a sorority?” asked Amanda, who had enjoyed every minute of college life, from the first day until the moment she graduated.

“No, in one of the dorms. I never got the sorority thing, it felt too elitist. Besides, my dorm was mixed, and living with boys was kind of fun. ”

Amanda took a sip of her wine. “ I know sororities look silly from the outside, but I loved Kappa Delta so much… there was a real sense of community. Hey, do you go to the alumni reunions? I went to one five years ago, but the flight is too long to do it every year.”

“Believe it or not, I’m always busy when they happen… and anyway all my college friends except for one live too far away to meet, even once a year.” Kate rested her chin on her hand and smiled, remembering her teenage years. “I went to a grand total of one high school reunion a few years ago. But high school wasn’t exactly my golden age, so it was… just okay. Not a lot of fun to be had.”

She didn’t realize that the two men sitting at the table had jerked to attention when they heard the magic words ‘high school’.

“Oh, you’re right, I went to a couple of those and I hated them”, agreed Amanda. “Having to socialize with all the former mean girls in my class… _Now_ they want to talk to me, when I’m not forty pounds overweight anymore.”

“You should have seen me in high school. Brackets on my teeth, shaped like a surfboard, too shy to talk to a boy until my senior year… I was a complete disaster”, added Kate with a laugh. “But you’re right about the mean girls. They always turn into nice people twenty years too late. The Queen Bee in my class was a mean little person called Christine, and she actually had the nerve to pretend we were BFFs at that reunion.”

“Really?” asked Amanda, who couldn’t resist a bit of gossip. “And what did you do?”

“I arrived at the gym, I was saying hi to my actual high school friends, and suddenly there she was. With her bleached hair, her stiletto nails, and her airs of superiority. She started fussing over me, telling me how wonderful I looked, gushing about my hair, and my dress… So I looked her right in the eye and said: ‘Christine, you never liked me’.”

“Oh, my God! You actually went and told her that?” asked Amanda with a chuckle.

“Those exact words. In the tone I always use for talking to the lawyers of the other party in a trial. I guess she was expecting me to act as if nothing had happened… or to make a scene, but I didn’t want to give her that satisfaction just because she was a messy bitch looking for drama.” She refilled Amanda’s glass of wine, and then her own. “Excuse the language, but there's no other way to describe that woman.”

“Oh, dear! How did she react?”

“She just stood there, blabbering about how it wasn’t true, and she had always thought I was so sweet, and… I let her go on for a moment. Then I stopped her, said ‘I never liked you either’, turned around and walked away from her”, finished Kate with a pleased smile.

“I can’t believe you had the… the balls to say that to her face!”

“I just wasn’t there for the theatricals. Sorry, but if I’m going to fly eight hundred miles from California to Seattle for a school reunion I want to see my friends, not reminisce with the person who was awful to me twenty years ago. It’s just not healthy to go over those old grudges.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve always said! Not healthy at all”, said Amanda, staring at her husband with intent.

Both men appeared to be a little embarrassed; but Daniel recovered first, and he saw his chance to do some damage.

“Well, I guess we’re lucky that West Valley High doesn’t organize reunions… right, Johnny?”

There was something dangerous in his voice, some hint of malevolence, and Johnny realized too late that Daniel knew a lot of secrets about him. Too many secrets. And he had no way of keeping him from spilling all those secrets right there, in front of Kate.

“Who knows, maybe you and your Cobra Kai friends would have some fun at the reunion, reminiscing about that day when you rode after me on your dirt bikes and pushed me down a cliff.” He smiled at Johnny while he spoke, enjoying the forlorn look on the other man’s face.

“Baby, that cliff gets higher every time you tell the tale”, intervened Amanda, trying to avoid an uncomfortable situation. “And I swear the first few times I heard it, the ‘cliff’ was just a slope.”

“Oh, I guess you’re right… just a boys’ prank”, admitted Daniel, still not ready to let the matter go. “At least it wasn’t as bad as the beating you guys gave me at Halloween, remember?”

Johnny's cheeks became splotched with red, but he refused to go down without a fight.

“Several people got a beating that Halloween, including me and my friends”, he said in a low voice. “Your Sensei had something to do with it. And that was only after _you_ started some shit with your stupid shower trick.”

He didn’t dare looking at Kate. He had told her a version of all the events of his senior year, of course... But LaRusso’s side of the story was out in the open now, and if Kate chose to believe his enemy’s tale there was no way he could stop it.

Both Kate and Amanda reached for their glasses of wine at the same time and exchanged an alarmed glance, hoping to come up with a distraction and keep things from escalating further. And, because fate does have a hand in these things sometimes, the distraction arrived… even if it wasn’t welcomed by everybody.

“Hey, boss! I had no idea you were here!”

They all turned to look at the man who had approached the table, but only Daniel seemed genuinely happy to see him.

“Anoush! Wow, is everybody having lunch at Scratch today, or what? No wonder there was a line.”

“I was having a drink at the bar with that doctor who came by the dealership yesterday. I just sold him two high-end Mercedes, one for him and another one for his wife”, said the newcomer with a self-satisfied smile.

“Good job! I knew those trimester sales numbers were improving for a reason. You’re running for employee of the month, right?” asked Daniel with a laugh.

“Well, now that Louie’s gone it won’t be hard to… Oh, hello! What have we here?”

Anoush beamed at Kate, who responded only with a polite smile. He had no way of knowing that he’d just used a sentence she found condescendent and ridiculous.

“Anoush, this is Kate Williams”, said Amanda, thankful for the interruption. “Kate, as you may have guessed, this is one of our sales representatives... Anoush Malikian.”

The man didn’t lose a second before getting into siege mode.

“Your admirer, your friend, your faithful servant. Tell me, Kate… What car do you drive?”

She hesitated. “I don’t see how that’s relevant, but… I have a Toyota Yaris.”

“No!” Anoush’s face became a show of despair. “Impossible. An incredibly beautiful woman like you driving that ugly little thing? It’s cramping your style! Tell you what: come by the dealership tomorrow, and I promise I’ll get you the car of your dreams.”

He picked a business card from his pocket and offered it to Kate, who left it on the table beside her napkin.

“I don’t usually dream of cars. And... you know what, I’m really busy this week”, she said, hoping to put an end to her interactions with the car salesman. “But if I need a new car in the future, maybe–”

“It doesn’t have to be tomorrow!” insisted Anoush. “Give me a call next week, we can discuss car models over dinner. Or breakfast.”

By this point even Daniel was feeling a bit awkward, and Anoush suddenly made it worse. He took one step closer to the table and put a hand on Kate’s shoulder; she stared at his hand as if it was some disgusting insect that had landed there, but the man didn’t seem to notice.

An almost imperceptible movement startled Kate. Johnny’s chair had moved half an inch backwards, and out of the corner of her eye she saw that he looked about to jump from his seat. Without thinking, her hand moved towards him in what she hoped was a calming contact; she grazed his knee with her fingertips, under the table. Just for a second, but it did the trick; Johnny took a deep breath and grabbed his glass of wine, but he still didn’t take his eyes off the other man.

“Well, this has been fun!” said Amanda, who hadn’t felt that kind of second-hand embarrassment in years. “Anoush, who’s manning the office while you’re here? I think you should go back. _Now_.”

At last that got the man to take his hand off Kate’s shoulder, and she relaxed a little.

“Don’t worry, I left the kid in charge”, he answered. “And you’re right, I should be getting back now. If I leave that boy alone in the shop for too long, he’ll end up getting my job!”

He said goodbye to everybody and left, feeling quite on top of the world.

Of course Daniel had noticed Johnny getting more and more tense, and after Anoush had left he had the lousy idea of poking his enemy a bit more.

“Kate, I’m sure Johnny hasn’t told you about him, but that boy Anoush mentioned is actually–”

“I know who he is, thanks. Anybody wants dessert?” she asked in a firm tone. They had been jumping from one unpleasant topic to another; she was getting annoyed. Besides, bringing up Robby was a hit below the belt, and Kate was determined to avoid it. Fortunately for all the people present, Daniel got the hint and started talking about something else.

“So... Kate, is your firm here in Encino? I never got to ask where you work”, he said, allowing Johnny a short respite.

“Powell and Morgan. Our office is right around the corner, at the new Corporate Center they opened last year.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard of them. Very prestigious firm… I’m fortunate enough not to need a lawyer too often, but maybe I’ll take my business to Powell in the future.”

“Thank you for your consideration”, she said in her best professional tone. “I’m sure any of my fellow partners would be happy to take care of your affairs.”

“One of your partners? And why not you?” he asked.

“Well…” Kate made a pause, trying to come up with the right words. “You see, there might be a slight conflict of interest there, Daniel. I’m sure you can see why.”

“What…” he laughed. “Why should there be a conflict? I haven't worked with your firm before.”

“Because I know it was you who tricked Armand Zarkarian into raising the rent of the strip mall”, she answered in her sweetest voice, the voice she always used to deliver a blow. “Amanda... do you want to share a portion of cheesecake? It looks delicious, but I’m sure it’s too many calories for one person.”

Daniel bit his lip, dumbstruck. He suddenly remembered why he didn’t like lawyers… and the smirk that had appeared on Johnny’s face wasn’t helping. At all.

Dessert was a peaceful event, mostly because Amanda was now watching Daniel like a hawk and curbing any incendiary comments that may come from him. With her leading the conversation again, they talked about the unusually hot weather, and hybrid cars, and the LaRussos plans for their upcoming family vacation. Any topic was safe as long as nobody talked about karate. Or about old wounds threatening to reopen.

At last, after dessert, Kate took a look at her watch.

“Oh, look at the time. I’m afraid we have to leave; I’ve got a meeting at three thirty, and it’s getting late.”

She stood up before Johnny did, trying to position herself between him and Daniel to avoid any last minute shenanigans. They shook hands politely with the LaRussos, thanked the host, and left the restaurant before the situation turned unpleasant again.

After Kate and Johnny left, Amanda finally had the chance to stare daggers at her husband.

“You must be _really_ proud of yourself today. I've never felt so embarrassed in my life.”

“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true”, he answered, distracted, while he was trying to get the waiter’s attention.

“Sometimes the truth can be really hurtful, honey. It’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it. Would it kill you to be nice to that man, for once in your life? Everything was going so well until you started being nasty!”

“Kate has a right to know what kind of client she’s got.”

“Speaking of which, I got a vibe that those two are something more than attorney and client”, she observed. “Don’t you think they’re... you know? Together?”

“What?” Daniel let out a little laugh. “Come on, Amanda. You didn’t have that much wine with lunch... That woman is way out of Johnny’s league.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. He cleans up nicely.”

“You have to be kidding me”, said Daniel, with his eyes wide open. “That is a joke, right? He may be wearing a suit today, but inside that suit he’s still the same old Johnny.”

“He looked really good in that suit, and I’m just telling you what I saw”, she stated, wondering how could her husband not notice all the little signs. “They were a bit too comfortable and too familiar with each other to be just business acquaintances. I may be wrong, but–”

“I’m not listening to any of that”, he said, with a tone that meant he wanted to put an end to the argument. “You want to play matchmaker with Johnny Lawrence, of all people? Look, Kate seemed like a nice, intelligent, professional woman… What would she see in a man like him? Besides, she’s going to give Anoush a call next week; and in my opinion _they_ would make a nice couple. At least Anoush has a respectable job and a good attitude.”

He sounded so sure of himself, so completely delusional, that Amanda couldn’t help laughing out loud.

“What’s so funny now?”

“Babe, you know I love you…” she said, holding Daniel’s hand. “But sometimes you’re as blind as a bat.”

“Why? What do you mean?”

“First of all, Anoush is a sexist pig”, she said, serious again. “He’s always been a sexist pig, and he’s not going to change anytime soon; I wouldn't let any friend of mine date him even if he was the last single man in America. Second of all, Kate left his card on the table and never picked it up again. There it is, see? Tucked under that napkin... and it wasn’t an accident. Third and final: during the whole time Anoush was shamelessly flirting with Kate, Johnny was looking at him as if he wanted to strangle him with his own tie. And, frankly, I don’t blame him because that little scene was really uncomfortable to watch.”

“Yeah, I saw that… and it doesn’t surprise me”, said Daniel with a grimace. “Johnny thinks every woman who’s in the room with him is his personal property, he’s been doing that since high school. But that doesn’t mean anything!”

“Anoush is not going to get that call next week, my love. Besides”, added Amanda with a knowing smile, “When they left, I saw Johnny put a hand on Kate’s back when he held the door open for her. Didn’t you notice?”

“Again, many men do that. My uncle Louie, may he rest in peace, did that back in the day. It’s not very polite, but we know Johnny’s manners are a relic from another century.”

“Maybe. But during lunch, when Anoush touched her shoulder, she flinched and gave him a death glare. Fifteen minutes later, Johnny touches her waist, lingers there while they exit the restaurant... and she doesn’t even blink. That’s what I meant when I said they’re too familiar with each other.”

“My dear, I think you’re reading too much into things.”

“I’m the one with the feminine intuition here, remember? You know I’m not a betting person... but if I had to place money on it, I’d say those two are a thing.”

The waiter finally appeared, after Daniel had signaled to him across the room several times, and he reached for his wallet.

“May we have the check, please?”

“That won’t be necessary, sir. Mr. Lawrence has already taken care of it.”

“Of course he has”, Daniel snickered, refilling his glass of Prosecco one last time with the few drops left in the bottle.

Despite what he’d told Amanda, he didn’t feel exactly proud of how he had let out his mean side again. Johnny just had a way of getting on his nerves... and no matter how much he tried to control it, it was still stronger than him.

* * *

  
Meanwhile, on the street, Johnny was trying to keep up with Kate’s pace. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk with the speed of a metronome, and that was the only sound she’d made since they had left the restaurant. He hated the idea of walking all the way to her office without clearing the air, so after a few yards of getting the silent treatment he reached towards her.

“Kate, wait.”

She stopped and turned around to look at him; her face was completely unreadable.

“Yes?”

“Come on… You haven’t said two words since we left the restaurant. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Johnny frowned. Maybe he was a little rusty, maybe he wasn’t the man about town he’d been in in his youth, but he knew how women talked. He suspected what that suddenly hostile ‘nothing’ meant... and it couldn’t be anything good.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to leave you hanging like that, darlings! I usually divide my chapters into shorter scenes, but this sequence needed to be told like this. Dont' worry, the next chapter will pick up exactly where this one has left off.  
> I took a little artistic license with Amanda here: there are no sororities or fraternities in Notre Dame, but I thought it fitted Amanda to be in one, so excuse the inaccuracy.  
> Scratch Bar & Kitchen is a real restaurant in Encino; they only offer dinner service, not lunch, but you can check their website and see how delicious the food looks.  
> The ‘You never liked me’ / ‘I never liked you either’ exchange between Kate and the mean girl from her high school is my little homage to Stephen Sondheim. It’s a fragment of dialogue that happens in the musical Follies, between two former showgirls who meet again at a reunion after many years.


	12. Redressing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny finds himself once more in Kate's office, does something unexpected, and ends up laughing at the irony of fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the final part of the three chapter arc I've written this week. I hope it's a satisfactory point to stop, because I'm going on vacation for a couple of weeks. I promise I'll take my notebook with me and do some writing, but I won't be able to post a new chapter for a while. 
> 
> I just realized I've posted 12 chapters in exactly two months... and this is the faster I've written in all my life. The Cobra Kai creators can be proud of having done something really inspiring. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 12. REDRESSING

Johnny loosened his tie, took it off and put it in his pocket without bothering to fold it. He felt like the piece of silky fabric was strangling him, and he had enough trouble breathing already.

He and Kate had almost arrived to her office building, and she kept giving him the silent treatment. They finally crossed the gate of the Encino Corporate center, and Johnny made one last attempt before Kate went into the garden area.

“Kate, talk to me.”

She turned around and stared at Johnny with her arms crossed.

“Fine. If that’s what you want, let’s talk.” She took a deep breath and started. “Look, I can’t judge you for the things you did more than thirty years ago. Teenagers don’t have the empathy of an adult, and it’s too easy to give in to peer pressure and be a jerk in high school. But that doesn’t mean I approve of things like… like throwing someone off a cliff.”

“You’re angry with me.”

“Do I _look_ angry to you?”

She didn’t; only her right eyebrow was arched alarmingly high, and her voice sounded too formal and clipped.

“No. You look… upset. But I’d rather you–”

“What? Scream at you and call you names? I don’t have that luxury, Johnny, remember that I work for you. Besides, you know screaming like a banshee it’s not my style”, she said, in a tone that sounded more sad than enraged. “But I can’t help…”

“What?” he asked, still visibly worried.

“I can’t help trying to guess what you would have thought of _me_ if we had been in high school at the same time. You would have had a field day making fun of the awkward girl with the glasses, the braces and the frizzy hair.”

“Kate... I’m not that person anymore.”

His voice sounded so sorrowful, so sincere, that Kate felt her resolve starting to melt into something else.

“I know”, she sighed. “And here I am, first saying I won’t judge you... and then doing exactly that. No, today is not the day for useless guessing exercises, I’m too tired for that. The person I’m really angry with is myself, for thinking that a group of adults could sit around a table and act like… you know, adults. I should have known better.”

“You had no idea that would happen. It’s not your fault.”

She closed her eyes and twisted a strand of her hair between her fingers. “Let’s just go inside and finish with the paperwork, shall we?”

Johnny held the door for her in silence. There was a knot in the back of his throat again, a nagging feeling that something had been broken and couldn’t be fixed.

The elevator ride was uncomfortable, but mercifully short. They crossed the floor, that buzzed with the activity of a dozen associates and paralegals, and went into Kate’s office. Her secretary, who had been texting her boyfriend and wasn’t expecting her boss to return before her afternoon meeting, was so startled that she almost fell off her chair.

“Oh! Good afternoon, Kate. You have the meeting with the senior partners in twenty minutes, I just called Mrs. Morgan’s secretary to make sure it's still on.”

“Thank you, Sally. Please remind me again when there’s five minutes left.”

Once inside her office, Kate went straight to the brand new Nespresso machine that had been installed there a few days before, and started pressing buttons.

“Milk and no sugar for you, right?” she asked without looking at Johnny.

“Yes.”

“Please, sit. I won’t be a minute.”

Johnny sat on one of the armchairs by the door, instead of the slightly uncomfortable office chairs that were next to her desk. Kate handed him his cup of coffee and remained standing in front of him.

“Now that the trial is over, there’s a few documents I need you to sign. It’s just a formality, and–”

“You think I’m a jerk, right?” he interrupted her.

She sighed and sat down on the other armchair, so close to him that their knees were almost touching.

“No, Johnny, I don’t think you’re a jerk. People make mistakes when they’re young, and I think those mistakes should not condition your whole life.” She took a sip of her black coffee. It was unsweetened, and she closed her eyes when she swallowed it. “Look, I get it. That man was your ex-girlfriend’s rebound boyfriend, and you hated him for it. You did some awful things to him back then, and he’s done other awful things to you now. Maybe it’s time for you two to stop running in circles and let things go, but… I can only advise you on legal matters, and this is personal. Besides, why is this so important to you? Why does my good or bad opinion affect you so much?”

“Because everyone who hears the story ends up taking LaRusso’s side.”

 _Especially everyone that matters,_ he thought. _Ali, Robby… you._

“Johnny, I’m not on anybody’s side”, she said kindly. “This is not a war. If it was, I would be on _your_ side, because that’s where I’ve been for the last month and a half. And yes, from what you told me I was expecting LaRusso to be a demon with horns on his head, and he’s not exactly like that. But he’s not my favorite person either! Especially after I saw him throwing all those little barbs at you during the whole lunch.”

“You noticed.”

“Of course I noticed. It doesn’t take a genius to see he was trying to make you look bad in front of me... What I don’t quite understand is why.”

“He’s just out to get me now. He enjoys having the upper hand.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game with that man, Johnny. You attack, he reacts, you retreat. And then it starts again, the other way around. I don't mind that you were a jerk in high school, but I hate being lied to, okay? You had no obligation to tell me the story of how he became your enemy, but I felt like an idiot knowing just half of it. At least his move with the rent backfired... I don’t think he’ll try anything like that again.”

“Right.”

“And don’t worry about a possible appeal. I don’t think your landlord will be that pigheaded, but if he appeals we’ll be ready.”

This was the moment Johnny had been waiting for. He stood up and left his empty cup of coffee on the low table beside the coffee machine. Then he straightened his back, took a long breath and willed himself to speak in a stern voice.

“I wanted to talk to you about that. The appeal thing.”

Kate smiled to herself. Of course he was worried; he had so little confidence in the Law that he still couldn’t believe he’d won the case.

“Don’t even think about it now. To begin with, it’s very improbable; and, besides–”

“If Zarkarian appeals, I want Kevin to argue my case”, he interrupted her.

Johnny saw Kate’s smile fade, and her cheeks paled under her skilfully applied blush.

“I don’t understand. Is this because of what happened at the restaurant? I already said I wasn’t angry with you”, she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

“No. Yes… in part. I spoke to Kevin this morning before the trial, and I think it’s best if I work with him in the future. You’re busy with your other cases anyway.”

There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence while neither of them spoke or moved. Then Kate stood up slowly, like an automaton. She pressed her lips together and ordered herself not to say anything, at least until she had calmed a little. She crossed the space from the armchair to her desk with slow and calculated steps, opened a drawer and took out a file; then she brushed an imaginary speck of dust from the front of her dress and sat down. She could feel the blood pulsing in her ears, but she commanded all her self control and tried to focus.

When she looked at Johnny again, he seemed embarrassed. Kate opened the file, took out a few documents and handled them to him.

“If that’s what you really want, fine; there’s nothing else to say”, she stated, hoping that her voice didn’t sound too hurt. “I’ll send your case file to Kevin’s secretary today. I need you to sign these documents first, and write your whole name below the signature. There’s three copies.”

Johnny grabbed a pen from the desk and signed the papers without reading them.

“That’s just a generic disclaimer, it means that you have decided to hire a different lawyer on your own free will, and I'm not responsible for your case anymore. I imagine Kevin will contact you soon so you can give him a new power of attorney... But that’s none of my business now, so you better talk to him directly. Or to his secretary, her name is Patricia and she’s a lovely woman.” She recovered the documents, signed one of them and tossed it back to Johnny. “There you go, that copy is for you. Congratulations; as of this moment, I’ve stopped being your lawyer, I’m just the mother of one of your students.”

She had her gaze fixed on some far away point while she spoke, and Johnny moved a little to the side so he would be in her visual field again.

“Kate, I’m sorry about this. I just need…”

She raised her hands in a quiet gesture of surrender.

“Please don’t. You don’t owe me any kind of explanation… and we’re not subject to attorney-client privilege anymore, so you shouldn’t tell me anything important or confidential. Save it for your new legal advisor.”

She rose from her seat and stood in front of him, not too close.

“Well, it has been a pleasure working with you”, she said in a tone that wouldn’t have been out of place at a funeral. “I guess I’ll see you at the dojo one of these days, unless you decide that mothers are not welcome there. Goodbye, Johnny… and good luck.”

Kate extended her arm, offering him a rigid handshake. Johnny shook her hand in silence for a second… but, instead of letting go, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him.

It was a sudden movement, as swift and unexpected as he would move in combat, and Kate was caught off guard. She put a hand on the lapel of his jacket to steady herself, and then removed it as if his touch was burning her. Johnny was still holding her right wrist, and they stood so close that she had to tilt her head backwards to look at him.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Johnny looked into Kate’s questioning eyes. He noticed that her breath had become agitated… he could have sworn she was trembling.

“I’m giving you time to think. I’m giving you time to say no.”

Time. It took her exactly two seconds to go through several stages of… of something. First confusion, then surprise, then outrage… at the end of all that she narrowed her eyes, giving him a defiant look.

“What if I say yes?”

Johnny didn’t answer. Well, he did... but not with words. As slowly as he could, he ghosted his fingers over Kate’s arm, her shoulder, the side of her neck… until he placed one finger under her chin and brought his lips to hers. He felt her body relax against him immediately, and a pair of feminine hands grabbed his shoulders while he kissed her. He didn’t want to let go, didn’t want the moment to end after things had almost been completely ruined at lunch.

When he broke the kiss and opened his eyes, Kate smiled at him for a fraction of a second… until she frowned, and the magic moment ended, just like he had feared.

“You’re impossible!” she said, trying to push him away from her... and failing, because Johnny had circled her waist with his hands and had no intention of releasing her. “Oh, you’re the worst.”

“You’re not really angry with me, Kate.”

“I should be! _Now_ is the moment when I should go berserk on you, screaming and calling you names. How could you scare me like that? I thought… I thought you hated me all of a sudden, for no reason! I just… Heavens, why?”

“Because I didn’t want you to lose your job for me. Because I needed to stop being your client so your stupid Ethics Code didn’t keep me from doing this”, he said, claiming her lips again in another kiss, longer and more heated than the first. “Because I’ve wanted to do this since the first day you walked into Cobra Kai.”

Kate just stared at him, dumbfounded. She felt her heartbeat go out of control again, this time with good reason… and the realization was stronger than her very reasonable anger.

“I should call security right now and have you removed from my office, Mr. Lawrence”, she whispered, putting her arms around his neck.

“What’s keeping you?” he asked, smiling against her lips.

“If I do that I’ll have to file a security complaint, and it’s a lot of tiresome paperwork. I’d rather deal with you myself.”

She finally succeeded in squirming out of his arms and took a small step back. It was hard to think when he was so close.

“So… I’m guessing everything you’ve said since we arrived from lunch has been part of some hideous scheme to get me exactly where you wanted.”

“Not everything. Can I have a chance to explain myself?”

“Fine, but please answer me a couple of questions first: Kevin got you that suit, right? I don't doubt your good taste, but I know his style… and that’s exactly it.”

“His boyfriend did, I went to his shop the other day. Nice guy, only a bit… you know, flamboyant. He squeals like a girl, and he tried to sell me a pink tie. But apart from that he’s nice.”

“Okay… you are hereby charged with the crime of conspiring with Kevin and Oliver behind my back. That’s almost treason, but I can live with it. Anything else?”

“Kevin didn’t really get a call at the restaurant. I asked him to fake one and leave us alone.”

Kate’s mouth opened in surprise. She really hadn’t expected her friend to betray her like that.

“So that’s why he sent the bottle of Prosecco to our table… Oh, my God, I’m going to kill him! Johnny, don’t you realize that there was no need for all this… this theatre? That all you had to do was talk to me like a reasonable adult, and we would have solved it? I would have passed the case to a different lawyer, talked to Personnel and informed them of the situation, asked the Ethics Board for permission to…”

“No. I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission.” His eyes flashed with a cold blue light again, and Kate realized once again that this was not a man who did things by the book.

“Please, Johnny. Enough with the games.”

He took a step towards her. “I’m here now, talking to you. No more games.”

“Okay”, she conceded. “But you have a lot of apologizing to do, mister; you're not off the hook yet.”

“I know something I can do to get off the hook.”

He got dangerously close to her again, so close that she took another step back, until the back of her legs found the edge of the desk. He stopped barely an inch apart from her; they weren’t touching, not yet, but she could feel the heat that radiated from his body.

“When can I take you to dinner?” he asked with a devilish grin.

“Aren’t you sure of yourself? You’re asking _when_ , not _if_. Are you taking for granted that I…?”

“I know you’re not a tease, Kate”, he said, suddenly serious. “You wouldn’t have let me kiss you if you wanted nothing with me. Now, let’s talk dinner… how about tonight?”

“Impossible. I can’t until Friday… and I need to find a babysitter first.”

“No problem. I’ll tell one of the Cobra Kai girls to babysit.”

“You can’t do that! Giving orders in class is one thing, but ordering them around when they’re not in the dojo is not fair. And why just the girls? Can’t boys babysit?”

“Would you trust any of those savages with Rattler? I caught Hawk the other day teaching her a rap song; I’d tell you the lyrics, but you’re not gonna like them.”

“That’s rich, coming from the man who won’t stop swearing in front of the kids”, she said, trying (and failing) to sound serious. “Anyway, I think Kevin should be the babysitter this time. After all, this is his fault, he owes me one. Unless I kill him first.”

“Don’t kill him. Or at least wait until Saturday, then you won’t need him anymore”, said Johnny, inching his way once more into Kate’s personal space. She was now trapped between him and her desk, very close to a man who looked at her with something that could only be described as… hunger.

This time the kiss arrived without warning, and Kate was glad that she at least had a firm surface behind to support her, or she wouldn’t have been able to stand. Johnny’s hands went to her waist, and from there to her hips, practically pinning her in place.

She couldn’t help letting out a small moan, and that encouraged him even more. He ran his tongue along her lower lip once, twice, and then he took her lip between his teeth. Another moan, this time louder, and he shifted his attention to Kate’s neck, kissing his way down her throat until she felt the slight sting of a bite. Her breath hitched, and she grabbed him by the hair and pulled; not too hard, just enough to make him stop for a moment.

“So you’re a biter”, she whispered, still not letting go of his hair. “Why doesn’t it surprise me?”

“Because you’re a very clever girl”, he answered with his best crooked smile before kissing her neck again.

“If that leaves a mark, I’m going to kill you.”

“You’re planning to kill a lot of people today”, he laughed. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Well, you only know the business side of me so far.”

“And now I look forward to knowing the... pleasure side.”

He captured her lips again, with so much force that she was practically laying on her desk now. One of Johnny’s hands moved to her knee and started inching up, maddeningly slowly, until he reached the edge of her dress…

And then the phone rang.

“Jesus Christ!” muttered Johnny, detaching himself from Kate and taking a deep breath to calm himself, while Kate almost threw the phone to the floor when she scrambled to get it.

“Sally, hi! Yes, the meeting! In five minutes. Thank you so much for reminding me. I'm almost done here.”

After hanging up, she stood with the receiver in her hand, looked at Johnny, and they both burst out laughing.

“Okay… this has gone past any reasonable limits of what should happen in an office, Ethics Code or no Ethics Code”, she said, trying to rearrange the things on her desk.

“Saved by the bell”, added Johnny, still with a naughty look in his eyes. “Do you really have to go?”

“I’m afraid I have to. But don't worry... I’ll see you on Friday.”

She accompanied him to the exit, hoping that none of her coworkers noticed her hurriedly rearranged hair, or the intense blush on her cheeks. While they waited for the elevator, Johnny stood beside her and started tracing circles with one finger on the back of her hand.

“Stop that. There’s people working here…. And they love to gossip, especially the paralegals.”

“You could accompany me to the car, kiss me goodbye on my way out”, he whispered, leaning close to her ear.

There was a promise in his words. A wicked promise, and she was absolutely tempted to cross the short distance between them and kiss Johnny in front of the whole office... just to see how everybody, including him, would react. But she had too much good sense to actually do it.

“Don't you think you've had enough kissing for one afternoon? Besides, there are cameras in the elevators”, she warned. “Every year, the security guys give a Christmas party here in the office, and they play a montage of some very interesting videos. Videos of people who _didn’t_ realize there were cameras in the elevators. Apparently they’re the highlight of the party, but I don’t want to end on one of them.”

“Like I said… clever girl.”

The elevator arrived at last with a loud ‘ping’; Johnny stepped inside and held the doors open with one hand.

“I’ll pick you up at eight… but I just realized I don’t know where you live.”

“Of course. 19223 Saticoy Street, apartment 20. The building is called South Seas. I’ll text you the address so you won’t have to write it down… what’s wrong?” she said, noticing that Johnny was making a weird face.

“Nothing. Just… I knew someone who lived there once. Goodbye, Kate. See you on Friday.”

Johnny got into the elevator. He was thinking about the day, just a couple of months before, when he had gone with Daniel to visit his old apartment building. It had been a good day… Up until the moment when Robby’s truth had come to light, when all hope of reconciliation with his old enemy had vanished. But Kate hadn’t been living there yet; in that moment the place had been just a memory of Johnny's teenage years. A bad memory for LaRusso, that maybe could become a good one for him now. And, of course, another confirmation that LaRusso’s shadow was longer than he’d thought. He just couldn't get rid of him.

He pressed the down button and laughed to himself while the doors slid to a close.

Fate, that fate he claimed not to believe in, could be a son of a bitch sometimes. But he had to admit that the goddamn bastard played its cards really well.


	13. Tactics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny realizes there's one little detail about his date with Kate that he hadn't contemplated. Meanwhile, Daniel has lots of plans to promote karate in the Valley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who’s back after three long weeks! I’ve missed writing so much during my vacation... Yes, I needed some R & R, but my fingers were itching to type this chapter and keep the story moving… I want to get to the ‘good stuff’ and make the rating go up as soon as possible (wink wink, nudge nudge and all that).  
> This is a sort of filler chapter, and it's also Kate-less. I’m giving my girl some time alone to recover from all the smooching, and to get ready for her big date. Also, I needed to introduce a couple more karate students (I promise they will be the last ones!), and this seemed a good moment to do it.  
> Thanks for your patience, I hope you like this update!

**CHAPTER 13. TACTICS**

If someone with a bit of real estate knowledge had been asked to describe the house recently bought by the Yashida family in Encino Hills, there would only be one suitable word: _architectural_.

From the outside, it looked like a series of white cubes, tastefully arranged on a wide extension of green lawn. It had lots of open spaces, huge windows, soaring ceilings, glass walls everywhere, and even an infinity pool. The two doctors Yashida (both husband and wife were surgeons) shared a taste for modern arts, and in the short weeks since they had moved to the Valley, the walls of the house had been decorated with so many abstract paintings and extravagant art pieces that the place felt like a small branch of the MOMA.

Lounging by the pool in the morning sun, completely oblivious to all the expensive architecture around them, the Yashida siblings, one boy and one girl, were in the middle of a conversation that had almost devolved into an argument.

“How can you be so irrational, Keiko?”

“Why do I need to be rational about _this_? It’s just an after school activity, it’s not like I’m choosing a college! I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that for a couple of years, because if you make all this fuss about a karate dojo…”

“Well, karate is a serious thing; we should choose our dojo very carefully”, said the boy. He was tall and lean, with a stern face. The kind of boy everybody labels as the serious and responsible one, especially when he’s got a little sister who cares very little about following the rules.

“Come on, Shiro”, huffed the girl, absentmindedly picking bits of grass and throwing them into the pool. “We’re not going to make a living out of martial arts. You’ve already decided to follow the family tradition and become a doctor; and I’m going to make Mom and Dad suffer for a couple of years by telling them I want to study Fine Arts… but I know in my heart that medicine will be my thing in the end, too. I don’t want karate to be something terribly serious. You know, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to keep doing karate... but if I quit now Mom will have a fit. I just want something fun to do after school, and a way to make some new friends in a new city.”

“That’s what I want too!” answered Shiro. “We will make some friends and have some fun… but I don’t see why you don’t want to come to the dojo I’ve chosen.”

“Because I also need some independence! Don’t feel offended, but… I’m always the follower, always the one who has to do all the things you’ve done before. Practically all my friends back in Cleveland were the little brothers and sisters of _your_ friends. I want to be my own person for a while, not just Shiro Yashida’s shadow!”

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but he took a deep breath first. Arguing with Keiko usually took nowhere, she responded better to diplomacy. “I can see why you want to make some decisions by yourself, but… If you weren’t going through a rebellious counter-cultural phase, you’d see that Miyagi-Do is the best dojo for both of us.”

“Oh, please, I’m not on a counter-cultural phase… And Miyagi-Do sounds exactly the same as our old dojo in Cleveland. I just want to try something new!”

“Keiko, you’ve been rejecting anything that sounds Japanese for months, do you think I haven’t noticed? Look, I went through something similar when I was fourteen... It will pass.”

“I’m fifteen”, she reminded him, playing with her long ponytail. “And this is not a phase. Our family has lived in America for more than sixty years, Shiro. Why does everything we do have to be Japanese? I’m sure you couldn’t even find Kyoto in a map! Besides, what kind of person is going to teach you at Miyagi-Do? ‘LaRusso’ doesn’t sound exactly like an Asian name, right?”

“No”, admitted the boy. “But Mr. LaRusso told me on the phone this morning that his old Sensei, the man who founded the dojo in the eighties, was an Okinawan. At least the roots of the dojo are in the right place.”

“Look, Shiro, I understand that you’ve fallen in love with that place… but I don’t feel like training there. It just feels like another old, traditional, boring dojo where we’ll waste the best years of our lives doing hours and hours of endless kata.”

“The best years of our lives? When did you become so dramatic?” Shiro laughed. “Okay, fine. If the idea of joining Miyagi-Do doesn't appeal to you… there’s also Topanga, have you looked into that one?”

“Meh, too many acrobatics and silly jumps. Not for me.”

“And what about All-Star Karate? Mom talked to their Sensei yesterday, it looks like a good place too and they have several Asian students.”

“Yeah, All-Star looks fine, but… Who will drive me all the way to Granada Hills every day? You will be at your own karate class and I don’t have my license yet. If I go to Cobra Kai I can take the bus to Reseda, it’s not far from home.”

Shiro was about to surrender. He had argued with his sister millions of times since she was old enough to talk, and he knew how stubborn she could be. At least this time Keiko had agreed to a reasonable conversation, and he knew that deep down she was right to want a bit more freedom now that she was old enough to make her own decisions.

“I just think Cobra Kai’s style looks a bit too aggressive for my taste. But if that’s what you want… I’ll talk to Mom and Dad about it when they come back from work today. After all, you’re not making a decision for life. Let’s do one thing: you go to Cobra Kai for a few months, until Christmas, and if by then you don’t like it you’ll come to Miyagi-Do with me. Deal?”

Keiko's face lighted up with a bright smile, and she high-fived her brother with enthusiasm.

“Deal!”

* * *

  
Exactly one day and seven hours before his date with Kate, Johnny Lawrence felt like the happiest man in the world.

For once, his tendency to daydream had turned out to be something positive: he had already decided on a restaurant, and now his imagination was pleasantly occupied with what might happen during, and especially _after,_ the aforementioned date.

They would go for a drink after dinner, of course; and from there to Kate’s… Johnny shook his head in silence. No, not to her place, because her kid and the babysitter would be there. That meant there was only one option left, only one place where the night could end if things went the way he planned. Johnny looked around him and appraised the state of his apartment.

At exactly one day, six hours and fifty-five minutes to his date, Johnny Lawrence went into panic mode.

Of course he knew the way his dingy apartment looked, he saw it every day. But it had been ages since he’d had anyone over, except for a few visits from Miguel to discuss karate stuff, and that day Sid had appeared unannounced. He didn’t give two shits about Sid’s opinion, of course, and Miguel was a boy. Boys didn’t care if they saw dirty dishes in the sink and an empty beer can on the table. Or five.

But Kate would care, that's what women always did. She would see the cracked paint on the walls, the kitchen that begged for a good scrub, the carpet that had started its life being an ugly custard shade, and now had so many stains and faded spots that nobody could guess what color it was anymore. And, if the night went _really_ well and they took things to the bedroom…

Johnny broke into a cold sweat.

But he only lasted a few seconds in that mindset. He was, above everything, a man of action, so he decided to do the best he could with his limited time.

One hour later, there were three bags of trash in a neat line by the door, waiting to be thrown out. He even had separated the glass bottles, like Miguel kept telling him with his silly lectures about recycling. The kitchen was almost as spotless as it had been the day it was installed, and the bedroom had been neatly organized. Johnny had even planned a trip to Target the next morning, to buy some new sheets.

He now stood in the middle of his living room, contemplating the situation of the carpet. He’d had the idea of putting a smaller carpet on top to cover the worst stains (that was also on his Target shopping list), but the fact remained that the poor thing hadn’t been cleaned in ten years, not even once. With a determined frown Johnny grabbed the trash bags, carried them to the bins outside, and knocked a quick rap on the Diaz’s door, hoping that Carmen or Rosa would answer. He didn’t feel like giving any explanations to the boy… he already felt that his students were suspicious of him and Kate, anyway. There were too many sideways glances, hushed whispers and silly smiles every time Kate went to Cobra Kai to pick up Rani and spent more than a minute talking to him.

Fortunately, the door opened to reveal Rosa and her kind face.

“Buenas tardes, Mr. Lawrence!” she said with a smile.

“Hi, Mrs. Diaz. Hey, I was wondering… Do you have a vacuum cleaner I can borrow? And... maybe a couple other things.”

To Rosa Diaz, cleanliness was indeed next to godliness, and she was a very religious woman. Even back in Ecuador, when life was hard and money was scarce, her favorite saying had been ‘No one’s too poor to buy soap’. She even had resorted to making her own soap several times in her youth. Johnny hadn’t even finished explaining what he needed, and she was out the door with a mop in one hand and a vacuum cleaner, almost bigger than her, in the other. Johnny had tried to protest and carry the cleaning utensils for her, to no avail.

Once in Johnny’s apartment, Rosa’s sharp eyes surveyed the place like a drill instructor inspecting the recruits’ barracks.

“I already cleaned the kitchen”, he said in a hesitant tone. There was something in Miguel’s grandmother that he found oddly intimidating.

Rosa went to the kitchen area and ran her finger twice along the cheap formica countertop.

“Hmm. Not bad”, she admitted. “But if you want to impress your señorita, this place needs work.”

Johnny shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I only have one hour to do this before I open Cobra Kai today. But it’s fine, it’s not like the apartment has to be spotless–”

An incensed glance from Rosa reminded him that ‘spotless’ was the only acceptable state for any house, including his. She didn’t even have to say it.

“Then you better work fast. I am going to see what I can do with this carpet”, she said in a stern voice. “You grab that mop and bucket, and that sponge, and start cleaning the bathroom until you can see your reflection on the tiles. Vamos, a trabajar!”

The only possible response was to do what she said, so Johnny headed to the small bathroom and started scrubbing. From the other room came the whooshing sound of the vacuum cleaner, and over it he could hear Rosa singing, at the top of her voice:

 _Sarina nació en Cayapas,_  
_ahora vive en Borbón._  
_Enseñándole a la gente_  
_su baile y su rico son._ _  
Ella es Sarina, la dueña del baile…_

Johnny couldn’t help smiling. He had always hated asking for help, even when he was young, even in his lowest moments. And now this little old lady was in his living room, bravely fighting ten years of dustballs out of the goodness of her heart, to help him look good for his date with a woman she had never met.

Well, at least now he knew where Miguel got his resolve. Those Diaz women were tough.

He went back to scrubbing the tiles as fast as he could. He didn’t even realize he had started to hum the melody of Rosa’s song, a song of which he didn’t understand one word.

* * *

  
Later that evening, Amanda LaRusso was busy in the kitchen, fighting her own desperate battle against a huge chicken. The bird’s ultimate destiny was to be marinated, tied up, basted, and roasted... but Amanda was still on square one. She still hadn’t been able to figure out the proportions of the marinade from the handwritten recipe Lucille had sent her.

“I swear she’s given me the wrong directions on purpose”, she muttered to herself. “Well, I’m not going to be defeated by poultry, not today!”

She adjusted the ties of her apron, drank a glass of chilled water and went back to reading the recipe. Right in that moment Daniel arrived home; he strode into the kitchen with his phone to his ear.

“Thank you so much, Sue. That is fantastic news! Yes, I’ll tell Amanda, we can start looking for a suitable date right away… August the 4th? Sounds wonderful; or maybe the 11th. Not too late, it would have to be before school starts. Perfect, we’ll be in touch. Goodbye!”

He put his cell phone away and beamed at Amanda.

“Hey, babe! You’re early, how did things go today at the dojo?”

“Hello, my love”, he said, kissing her. “Perfect! Everything went so smoothly that I let the kids go one hour earlier. Is that the chicken you’re going to roast tomorrow?”

“If I can beat it into submission, it will be”, she sighed. “Your mother’s instructions are written in some obscure language from the dawn of time; that’s slowing things a little.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage”, he encouraged her, taking off his jacket and folding it carefully over the back of a chair. “I was just talking to Sue, from the All Valley Athletic Committee, and I have very good news. So good that they deserved a bottle of your favorite Merlot.”

“Yes, you have that glint in your eye… the one that always appears when you’re planning something.” Amanda made a decision regarding the chicken, and put the bird and the half-prepared marinade in the refrigerator before giving Daniel her undivided attention. “Tell me everything, oh, genius.”

Daniel went to the pantry, grabbed two glasses and a bottle of wine, and set everything on the counter in front of Amanda.

“The first bit of good news is that, starting tomorrow, a very talented seventeen-year-old boy called Shiro Yashida is going to become my fourth student”, he said, sounding prouder than ever.

“Your first Japanese student!”, observed Amanda. “I see that Miyagi-Do is filling up, little by little. Congratulations.”

“Japanese-American, third generation. It’s an honor that he’s chosen my dojo… and this proves my theory that if you have a good foundation, the students will arrive. Slow but steady!”, said Daniel taking a sip of his wine.

“Not that I want to rain on your parade, but… weren’t you also expecting that boy’s sister?”

“I was; but she has decided to join a different dojo.”

“Let me guess… Krunch? No, wait… it has to be All-Star. They always have a lot of Asian students.”

“Oh, no. That would be easy and too straightforward. Guess again.”

She didn’t have to read Daniel’s mind, because his suddenly sour face was speaking volumes. Amanda raised an eyebrow and laughed.

“Oh, my God, she’s going to Cobra Kai? That’s too funny!”

“I’m glad at least one of us finds it funny... because I sure don’t”, said Daniel with an exaggerated pout.

“Babe, I have two words for you: cosmic conspiracy. The stars are aligned against you! It’s the only reason that explains why you and Johnny Lawrence have been running in circles around each other for almost a year. And now you get one sibling each, like an ersatz custody agreement? Forgive me, but that’s hilarious!”

“Not for long, don’t worry. As soon as I tell Doctor Yashida one or two things about Cobra Kai’s methods…”

“No”, interrupted Amanda, who had stopped laughing.

“No, what?”

“I don’t want you playing dirty, Daniel. No more tricks, no more trying to get Cobra Kai banned from things, no more malicious gossip. I won’t let you become that person again, especially now that you’ve found yourself and you’re happy with what you do. If the Yashida girl wants to join Cobra Kai it’s her decision, not yours. And it’s not your job to save her from anything, she has her parents and an older brother for that.”

“Fine”, he surrendered. “I’m only going to do one thing: train Shiro to the best of my ability, and if that makes his sister want to join us in the future… the doors of Miyagi-Do are always open. You’re right, it’s not fair to steal students from other people. Not even from Johnny.”

Amanda beamed at Daniel and raised her glass. “A toast. To my wonderful husband, the reasonable man. And the Sensei of a successful and respected dojo.”

Daniel did the same. “Thank you, my love. You know, I have a very good feeling about this. Sue and I have been discussing several other ideas, and I think this year is going to be a very good one for karate in the Valley.”

“Oh? I’m dying to know all your evil plans.”

“They’re not just _my_ plans. Several members of the Committee have made suggestions, and we’re going to have a meeting next week to discuss all the details. To begin with, they’re talking of organizing another tournament, one for kids under fourteen.”

“I think that’s a great idea”, agreed Amanda. “It’s not fair for the small kids to fight against sixteen and seventeen year-olds. Remember that tiny Cobra Kai boy, the blond one with the glasses? He was so brave, I just wanted to step on the mat and give him a hug when he lost!”

“Please don’t go around hugging Cobra Kai students, Amanda… we have a reputation to uphold”, observed Daniel with a smirk. “But you’re right, it’s because of boys like him that we need a separate tournament for the younger children. The main event will still take place in May, and we’re thinking somewhere around December for the new one. Back in my day, the championship used to be in December anyway.”

“Splendid! I’m sure lots of people will attend. Especially now that you have several students who will be competing.”

Daniel flashed her a proud smile. “Well, none of my current students fit in the under-fourteen category… but that’s another thing that will change really soon, with a bit of luck.”

Amanda leaned on the kitchen counter and helped herself to another glass of wine. “So many good news in one day! What else are you planning?”

“Do you remember those urban camps for children that the County of Los Angeles organizes every Summer?”

“I remember that you tried to enroll Anthony last Summer, he threw a Playstation control at your head… and if your reflexes weren't so good you would have needed stitches.”

“Yeah, I was lucky to dodge that one… but what I wanted to say was that I know someone who knows someone who is involved with the organization of those Summer camps. And I can get them to organize a few visits to Miyagi-Do. If I can teach those little kids one or two things about karate, if I can get them interested… maybe that will be a good way of getting some new students.”

Amanda observed her husband’s face carefully. “You miss teaching Sam when she was little, right? I think you would do a great job with those younger kids.”

“Of course I miss it. You know I’m really happy with all my current students, but… Sam knows me too well, she always anticipates what I’m going to say next. Robby has street smarts so it’s really hard to surprise him. And Demetri, God bless him, is a know-it-all. I miss having some younger minds to teach, some open minds without preconceived ideas.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage to get some new kids soon, babe.”

“And that leads me to my last bit of news for the day, and maybe the most important: all the Committee members agree with me that, if we want karate to flourish again in the Valley, it’s not fair that every dojo works in isolation between one tournament and the next. So… we’re going to organize an activity for all the dojos of the San Fernando Valley. One day out, a sort of excursion where the kids can get to know students from other dojos and have some fun together in the open air. We’re thinking of doing it at the Lake Balboa Park: there’s a large play area there, barbecue pits, a picnic area… and the lake, of course, for swimming and rowing. It will be really great for the kids and their families”, he ended with a contented smile.

“That sounds really fun and exciting!” said Amanda, pleasantly surprised. “Just answer me a couple of small questions.”

“What do you want to know?”

“When you say all the dojos… do you really mean _all_ of them? You’re not going to use your influence to get any of them excluded?” she asked, a little suspicious.

“I swear to God”, he said, raising his right hand. “Everybody will be invited… in writing, so there are no confusions.”

“Please tell me you won't do anything to make Cobra Kai look bad in front of the other dojos. Maybe Johnny Lawrence deserves that, but those children don’t.”

“Cross my heart”, answered Daniel, sounding a bit offended. “I’ve learned my lesson. And… who knows; with a bit of luck, Johnny will make Cobra Kai look bad without any help from me. Just wait.”

“I hope he doesn’t, even if it’s just for those kids’ sake”, said Amanda with a frown. “They’re only children, Daniel. Robby told Samantha they even have an eight-year-old girl now. And, from what Sam has told us, many of those children had a hard time at school last year… the last thing they need is to become outcasts in the karate community.”

Daniel huffed. “You saw with your own eyes what some of those _children_ did at the tournament, Amanda. Still, I know Sam has friends there, so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt. I promise I’ll be a saint on the day of the excursion.”

“I’m really glad to hear that. Who knows, maybe Johnny has changed now that he's got a girlfriend...”

“An alleged girlfriend. You’re letting your romantic side get the best of you, but I still can’t believe Johnny managed to trick that woman into going out with him, no matter how much you insist. ”

“Of course you can’t, you pigheaded man”, laughed Amanda. “You know what? I bet you twenty dollars that he takes her to the Lake Balboa excursion as his plus one. Deal?”

“Deal. Oh, that’s going to be the easiest twenty bucks I’ll win in my whole life”, said Daniel with a self-sufficient grin.

“We’ll see”, answered Amanda.

Daniel finished his glass of wine and got up, with a pensive expression on his face.

“What was that thing you said before… that Johnny and I were running in circles around each other? Is that what you think is happening?”

“It’s perfectly clear to me, honey. That man and you are borderline obsessed with each other… If he didn’t have a girlfriend, I would even be a little jealous. Especially now that he’s wearing smart suits and he’s got that _je ne sais quoi_ … that sort of Robert Redford vibe.”

Daniel looked at his wife with narrowed eyes. “Robert Redford? Are you serious? Maybe I should be the jealous one here.”

“Of course not! I haven’t put up with you for twenty years to be looking at other men now”, she joked. “And, even if I was looking at other men... he’s dating Kate, and I could never do that to a fellow coed. We Notre Dame girls have to stick together.”

“Allegedly dating her”, reminded Daniel with a smirk. “And remember, if he isn’t... you will owe me twenty dollars.”

“Of course, my love… _allegedly_.”

 

 


	14. Chrysanthemum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate is nervous about her upcoming date with Johnny. Meanwhile, Keiko and Shiro meet the other kids in their new dojos, and learn a thing or two about the rivalry between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again with another chapter! I wanted to feature the Cobra and Miyagi kids on this one, because the next few chapters will focus more on Kate and Johnny. If you're curious about what Shiro and Keiko look like, there's a moodboard at the end. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 14. CHRYSANTHEMUM

Robby had never seen Samantha stare at anybody like that.

Her big blue eyes followed the movement without blinking, taking in all the nuances, all the little details in the newcomer’s fighting style. It was almost like watching a dance: on one side, her Dad, with the clean Miyagi technique that Sam knew so well. Opposite him, moving almost beyond the limits of human speed, was Shiro. Every strike looked so elegant, every kick so effortless, that sometimes it seemed as if the boy was levitating a couple of inches above the mat.

Robby noticed it too, of course. It was like that supernatural shit in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ( _wrong martial art… that wasn’t karate_ , his mind told him instinctively). Suddenly all the things he had learned from Mr. LaRusso in the previous months seemed like nothing; like the clumsy mockery of a little child who watches a karate movie and starts throwing kicks in his pajamas in the middle of the living room. He suddenly remembered that he had done that with his Dad once… and the return of the repressed memory startled him. How old was he then... four, five? The memory was in black and white, and so far away that the only thing he could see clearly was Johnny’s proud smile. Robby shook his head and turned his attention back to the sparring. And to Sam, who in turn was observing Shiro.

The new boy was… well, he was pretty. It shouldn’t be a word anybody used to describe a boy, but he had a delicate face despite being so tall. Girls loved that; he had seen several of his classmates at North Hills High lose their silly little minds over those _bishounen_ boys in Asian films and K-Pop bands. Robby felt like he should be jealous; he _knew_ he should be… but he just couldn’t summon that feeling. The only jealousy he felt was professional, the one related to the fact that this Shiro Yashida guy had the potential to be Mr. LaRusso’s new star student.

If Sam was attracted to the new boy… well, he didn’t give a damn, really. And that made him feel sad.

It was the final confirmation that all the attraction he had felt for her was strictly related to the fact that she was Mr. LaRusso’s daughter. And also because she had two loving parents, a big house, a new car, a brilliant future ahead... All the things Robby would never have.

At least if Sam fell for the new guy she would finally forget about that jerk Diaz. That petty thought was the smallest consolation in the world, but the boy clung to it like a lifesaver.

The sparring on the tatami came to a halt. The two fighters bowed to each other, and Daniel burst into a cheerful laughter.

“Well, that was incredible! You know, Shiro… Some of your moves reminded me of the way Mr. Miyagi fought. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to teach you anything… in fact, I feel like I should get a dozen more students and ask _you_ to co-teach with me”, he said, feeling a bit short of breath. The boy had really taken him by surprise a couple of times, and even with his long years of experience he’d had trouble keeping Shiro’s pace.

“Please don’t belittle yourself like that, Sensei LaRusso”, said Shiro in his calm and measured tone. “Every master has something to teach, and I look forward to learning from you, everything I can. And to make some new friends, of course. That is enough.”

His three classmates grinned when they heard his words. The boy just had a way to ingratiate himself with everybody.

“Boy, you’re gonna crush it at the tournament next year!” said Demetri, still in complete awe.

Shiro looked down at the mat, then at Daniel, and again at Demetri.

“I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you there, my friend. I will be eighteen next March, so the under-17 tournament won’t be an option for me. I’m not sure I would have participated anyway… I do karate for my own personal fulfillment, but I’m not very interested in competing. You’ll have to go to my sister Keiko for that, she’s the competitive one.”

“Your sister, the Cobra”, Robby snapped. “She’ll be right at home there, those guys are only interested in winning at any cost.”

“Why don’t we take a break and show Shiro the zen garden, and the rest of the dojo? I’m exhausted just of watching you guys fight.” interrupted Sam, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. “Dad, what if we all go for ice cream together after training? We should celebrate that Miyagi-Do has a new student.”

“That’s a fantastic idea”, acknowledged Daniel. “I know how much you guys have worked this week, and it’s already Friday. Let’s show Shiro the rest of the dojo, practise kata for… let’s say one more hour, and then we’ll all go to Dairy Queen; my treat. What do you say, Shiro?”

“Sounds perfect, Sensei”, he agreed. “I have to pick up my sister at six, but until then I’d love to stay and chat. I want to know more about all of you.”

Daniel nodded and led the way. He wasn’t sure he liked being addressed as _Sensei_ ; back in the day, Mr. Miyagi had wanted nothing to do with the honorific, and now… now it was what Johnny’s students called him, so it felt like a Cobra Kai thing. Would it offend Shiro if Daniel asked him to call him something else? Was it right to let Johnny keep the appellative all for himself...?

He would have to think calmly about it. Perhaps some other time.

The five of them went out to see Daniel’s pride, the Zen garden. He had spent an inordinate amount of time selecting the right plants, the right stones... There was even a pond with several brightly colored koi in it, imported from Japan years before, and transplanted from the other pond at the LaRusso’s house when he decided to open Miyagi-Do. A couple of them had been a gift from Mr. Miyagi himself, and Daniel felt terribly proud of his shoal of colorful and unusual pets.

Shiro was observing the fish when he noticed Sam standing beside him.

“So… this will be your senior year too, right? Are you going to West Valley High?”

“Of course. It’s going to be an interesting year… I need to study hard if I want to enter the pre-MD program at UCLA. Or maybe USC, I haven’t decided.”

“Wow, medicine! It’s cool that you already know what you’re going to major in. I still have no clue.”

“It’s kind of a family tradition”, he shrugged. “And I’ve always liked the idea, so in my case there’s no conflict between my parents’ wishes and my own.”

“Are you going to keep doing karate once you go to college?”  

“Yes, unless my studies prevent it. Both UCLA and USC are a thirty minute drive from here, so I suppose I could keep training, although not every day. If Sensei LaRusso doesn’t mind, of course”, said Shiro, crouching on the grass to admire a particularly beautiful yellow and black koi.

“If he doesn’t mind? He will do everything in his power to keep you here… I haven’t seen my Dad this excited in months, not since he started training Robby.” She followed the boy’s gaze towards the pond. “That yellow one is called Pikachu. Not very original, but he was one of the first koi we got and I was super proud that Mr. Miyagi let me name him.”

“I think it’s cute. And funny”, he said with a gentle smile.

“You must think we’re a bunch of nerds who can’t even do karate and spend all day playing with the koi.”

“That’s not true! From what I’ve seen, I think both you and Robby are very good. It’s extraordinary that Robby has become so proficient in less than a year. He’s got a lot of natural talent… I had to train for a long time before reaching that level.”

“Yeah, karate runs in Robby’s family too… his Dad is the Cobra Kai sensei.”

“And he doesn’t train there?” Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow. “How odd.”

“Yeah, well… you know how it is”, Sam muttered in a hesitant tone. She didn’t want to dump a load of drama on the new boy on his first day. “Not all families get along well. And the Cobra Kai karate is different from the one we do here. Hey, look… my Dad and the others are going back inside. Let’s go practise some kata.”

Shiro nodded politely and followed Sam, Daniel and the other kids back to the building in silence. He’d noticed Robby’s earlier remark about the Cobra Kai students, of course, but he had chosen to be cautious and not say anything. And now Samantha was giving him vague answers too. If that other dojo was really so rough and competitive… well, that would be right up Keiko’s alley; she had been the tough one all her life, the one who always liked facing new challenges.

Even so, he wondered how his sister was doing on her first day at the cobra’s nest.

* * *

 

“So, where’s Johnny taking you tonight? Anywhere fancy?”

Kevin took a bite of his burger. He had dropped by Kate’s office and asked her to lunch at their usual place in Ventura Boulevard, and of course he had also started asking all kinds of questions about her upcoming date. Questions that Kate didn’t know how to answer… or didn’t want to.

“I have no idea. When we talked on the phone last night, he got all mysterious and said he wouldn’t tell me the name of the restaurant. I think ‘fancy’ is not exactly his style, but… Johnny has been full of surprises lately.”

“Don’t I know it! You should have seen your face the other day when he appeared in that suit Oliver chose for him”, said her friend with a self-satisfied smile. He was very proud of his boyfriend’s impeccable taste.

“I still haven’t forgiven you for tricking me, by the way”, Kate said, pointing her fork at him. “Don’t expect me to tell you anything after the date; you deserve a punishment for what you did.”

“Awww, come on! We’ve given each other reports on our dates since college! It’s our tradition.”

“All traditions come to an end at some point. And we haven’t been in college for a long time, Kevin.”

“Right”, he conceded. “But I can’t help asking questions, I’m so excited for you! What are you going to wear?”

“There’s that blue dress that I bought last month and that I haven’t worn yet. You were with me when I got it at Bloomingdale’s, remember? Sleeveless, with a v-neck.”

“That one’s pretty, but… not enough cleavage. The girls deserve to be on display!”

“Kevin! If it was for you, I’d go to dinner in my underwear.”

“That would save you some time… I have a feeling that Johnny is going to end up seeing it anyway”, he joked.

Kate sighed.

“You’re very sure that the date is going to end a certain way. What if we have dinner, he takes me home and that’s it?”

“Ha! If that man doesn’t try to get under your skirt, I’m a Trappist monk. You’re an attractive woman, Katey… and things already got pretty heated the other day in your office. Is there any reason you wouldn’t want to do the horizontal tango with King Karate? I’m sure he’s got some really good moves, if you know what I mean…”

Kate took a sip of her lemonade and waited a few seconds before answering.

“I’m not sure I want to rush into things. What if Rani is not ready to see me in a relationship? She’s in a very impressionable age.”

“All children are in a very impressionable age. You’re going out with a man, it’s not a crime. Many single moms do it. Besides, Rani worships him! I mean, of all the men you could choose… if you want your daughter to be okay with the situation, Johnny is your best choice.”

“Maybe you’re right”, she admitted. “And, if it doesn’t work out, at least I’ll go out for dinner on a Friday night; I can’t remember the last time I did that.”

“Dinner... and sexytimes after.”

“You have no way of knowing that”, Kate laughed.

“The only thing I don’t know is _where_ the sexytimes will take place. Your apartment, his apartment… The back seat of his car? The world is full of possibilities.”

He had included the last option with the sole goal of scandalizing his friend, and of course he succeeded.

“I’m not doing things in a car, Kev! That’s for teenagers who have nowhere to go, or for broke college students who can’t afford a motel room.”

Kevin finished the last fries on his plate and put his cutlery aside. “Speaking of affording things, I have a very serious piece of advice for you.”

Kate lifted his eyes from her poké bowl. “Serious? Go ahead, I’m all ears.”

Kevin put his hands together and lifted his eyes to the heavens in a mockery of a praying stance.

“Dear Helen Mirren, goddess of feminism, please forgive me for the advice I’m about to give my friend: Kate, don’t try to pay for dinner.”

“Is that your super important recommendation? Don’t worry... when I’m on a first date I always split the–”

“No, don’t suggest splitting the bill either. Just keep your hands away from your purse and let the man pay like it’s 1984.”

“But…”

“No buts! You’ll hurt his pride, I think you know him well enough to know that. Besides, the person who asks for the date is the one who should pay; it’s the rule, and I don’t make the rules of sexual politics.”

“Come on, letting the man pay is something out of the fifties! Besides, if I let him pay for everything he’ll think he has a right to–”

“Now who’s talking like we’re in the fifties? You sound like my grandmother, Katey.”

Realizing the absurdity of what she had just said, Kate laughed. “Maybe I’ve been alone for too long. I’ve even forgotten the basics of how to go on a date.”

“You’ve _definitely_ been alone for longer than is healthy. And don’t worry, dating is like riding a bike: you never forget how to do it, it’s a lot of fun… and you may wake up a bit sore the next morning”, Kevin finished, revealing his white teeth in a wide grin.

“We’ll see about the last part”, answered Kate with an involuntary smile. “But I really want this to go well. I still don’t understand why I like him so much… we have absolutely nothing in common.”

“The ‘opposites attract’ thing may be old, but some old sayings end up being true. He’s good with Rani, and I think that’s one of the things that makes you like him. She told me the other day that Johnny is his favorite of all the teachers she’s ever had. _Ever_.”

“She’s only eight, Kevin. ‘Ever’ doesn’t have the same meaning for a child.”

“Speaking of the little munchkin: what time do you want me to pick her up this afternoon? Oliver is even more excited about her sleeping over than I am… the guest room has been ready for days, he’s got a pile of Disney movies for her to watch, and there’s a tent made of sheets in our living room, with Christmas lights and pillows inside, in case the princess wants a castle.”

“She’s going to want to watch Brave over and over, it’s her favorite. And karate videos on YouTube, of course.”

“Brave is on top of the pile.”

“Wonderful. Can you come around six thirty? Rani has karate until six, I have to pick her up… and that will give me just enough time to get ready, freak out a little, and be calm again when Johnny arrives at eight.”

“That’s one of the things I love about you; even your freak-out time is planned”, said Kevin with a smirk.

“If you and Oliver ever decide to have kids, you’ll understand why I’m so organized… it’s either that or descending into complete chaos.” She made a sign for the waitress to bring them the bill. “Let’s go back to the office. I have a lot to do this afternoon and I need to get out early.”

“I hope you got plenty of sleep yesterday… I don’t think you’ll be getting any tonight”, said her friend with a wicked smirk.

Kate rolled her eyes and laughed. “I don’t know where I’d be without your sage advice.”

“Tonight, you’d be at home eating ice cream and watching Netflix alone. In a tracksuit.”

“I don’t wear tracksuits. And that’s not a very nice thing to say.”

“I’m your best friend! It’s my duty to tell you the truth. And to push you into the arms of handsomely rugged karate teachers.”

Kate opened her mouth to answer, but the waitress arrived right in that moment, saving Kevin from a witty remark. She gave him a pointed glance, handed the waitress her credit card, and checked the time on her phone.

It was seven hours before the date… and she already felt as nervous as a silly teenager.

* * *

 

 _Crack_.

The board broke with a loud splintering noise, and the girl who had delivered the kick landed again on the mat in a fighting stance.

Miguel tilted his head, curious, and the other Cobra Kai students also stared at Keiko in silence. Breaking boards on the first day was something none of them had done… but of course none of them had arrived at the dojo with so much experience.

The girl didn’t even bother to gloat; she just smiled and turned towards the man in black beside her.

“Again, Sensei?”

Johnny shook his head, trying his best to hide a smirk. What was with girls and karate lately? Girls didn’t do martial arts back in his day, and it had seemed the way things should be. After all, they were the weaker sex, right? He tried to imagine what Bobby, Dutch and the others would have thought if a girl had strolled into Cobra Kai and started breaking boards as if they were made of paper.

Jimmy would have had a stroke, probably. The poor twit hadn’t even touched a girl’s bra until senior year.

Returning his attention to the present day, he lifted his hand to indicate that the board holder had sustained enough punishment.

“Nah, that’s more than enough. How long have you been doing this, Miss Yashida?”

“Only five years.”

 _Only. Interesting choice of words,_ he thought.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush. When it comes to technique, you’re probably better than all my students; in the strength department, some of the boys are superior to you, of course, but that’s purely based on size. If there was a competition today, Diaz could beat you... and probably Hawk too, out of brute force. Aisha and Pride would have a hard time keeping up with you. Little Rattler over there could sprain your ankle before being defeated, she has a mean kick and she’s not afraid to use it. The rest wouldn’t even score half a point.” He strode among the kids, hoping that his words would spark a reaction and motivate some of the weakest boys. “If you decide to stay, that’s who you’re going to spar against. I'll teach you old school karate, not that New Age martial arts shit that you’ve probably been learning until now. We train hard, and I don’t allow weaklings or crybabies in here. What do you think of that?”

The girl looked at the other Cobras and beamed at them. “I’ve seen the videos of the All Valley tournament. I know what I can expect of this dojo... I know this is where I want to be.”

“Welcome to Cobra Kai, then.” Johnny smiled and looked at the clock on the wall. “We’re going to finish early today. Class dismissed.”

“But, Sensei, it’s not even…” Miguel started.

“Shut it, Diaz. It’s Friday, for fuck’s sake!” he barked. “Go party at the beach, or go to bed and watch that Netflix stuff or whatever. If you’re so desperate for training I’ll give you some extra tasks on Monday. Now, everybody get out of here and go have fun. That’s an order.”

He walked into his office, still with a smile on his face, and the boys and girls ran to their changing rooms.

Five minutes later, Johnny remained in the office with the door closed; several of the kids were sitting on the floor, tying their shoes and picking up their stuff before leaving.

Grace and Sophie, always ready to support other girls, had taken Keiko under their wing. The three of them stood by the door chatting with Aisha and Miguel, and waiting for Hawk who was still in the locker room. Keeping his blue mohawk styled wasn’t easy, and he was always the last one to be ready.

“Why would Sensei Lawrence cut the training short today?” wondered Miguel. “It’s not even five-fifty... He never does that.”

Aisha looked at the closed door of Johnny’s office to make sure he wasn’t listening. “Maybe he’s got a date and he wants to leave early. Didn’t you realize how much he smiled today?”

“A date? Do you think it’s with…?” Miguel pointed at Rani, who was just running out the door, and at Kate who was waiting for her outside. They hugged, got into Kate’s car and disappeared from sight.

“Who else? She’s the only woman we’ve seen him with”, added Sophie. “You’re Sensei’s neighbor, right? You’d notice if he was seeing anybody.”

Miguel shook his head. “He never takes women to his apartment, not that I’ve seen. Although… his place is kind of a dump, if I was him I wouldn’t take anybody there either.”

“He had like a thousand girlfriends in high school... He’s got to be dating _someone_ ”, said Aisha. Then she put her hands around her mouth and bellowed. “Hawk, we’re leaving! Are you going to spend the night in the changing room?”

Hawk finally appeared, still shirtless but with his mohawk in perfect order. “Hakuna your tatas, people, the Hawk is here! What are you buzzing about?”

“We think Sensei’s got a date tonight.”

“I like Rani’s Mom for him. She’s hot.”

That earned him two elbows to the ribs, one from Grace and the other one from Aisha.

“Ouch! What? All the guys are probably thinking the same thing!”

“Yeah, but at least they have the decency of not saying it, you doofus!”

Keiko followed the conversation with curiosity. Nobody talked that freely about the teachers at her old dojo, and she was fascinated. She stared at the huge bird of prey tattooed on Hawk’s back.

“That’s a cool bird. I have a chrysanthemum on my hip”, she said.

“Bullshit”, answered Hawk. “Didn’t you say you’re fifteen? It’s illegal for minors to get tattoos in California, how did you manage to get it?”

“I got it in Ohio, smartass”, she retorted. “How did you get yours?”

“I have a fake ID”, he said proudly. “Can I see your chrysanthemum now?”

“Nope.”

“Suit yourself.”

He put on his t-shirt and walked outside, where Moon was waiting for him.

“Don’t mind him, Keiko”, warned Miguel. “He’s been acting up since he got disqualified at the tournament.”

“It’s okay. He just wants to look tough in front of the new girl, poor thing”, she laughed.

They group grabbed their things and strolled outside.

“Does your brother do karate too?” asked Miguel, trying to make Keiko feel at ease after her headbutting with Hawk.

“Yeah, but he trains at a different dojo… it’s called Miyagi-Do. It was his first day today, too, I hope he did well.”

Keiko didn’t expect the sudden silence around her... or the worried looks the other kids exchanged, or the long faces of Miguel and Aisha.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked.

Aisha cleared her throat before speaking. “Er… This dojo and Miyagi-Do are not exactly friendly with each other. I mean, yeah, my best friend Sam trains there, but…”

“And our friend Demetri”, said Miguel.

“And Sensei Lawrence’s son”, added Grace.

“Okay, I don’t get it”, Keiko said, dumbfounded. “If you all have friends and family over there... why the bad blood?”

“Look, it’s complicated”, explained Miguel. “Basically, Sensei Lawrence and the Miyagi-Do sensei have been enemies since high school. Since LaRusso stole Sensei Lawrence’s girlfriend, among other things.”

Keiko raised an eyebrow. “Oh, no! Did he leave her laying around unsupervised?” she asked in her sweetest voice.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just find it funny that you think a person can be _stolen._ ”

The other three girls looked at each other, nodding, and then at Miguel, who was suddenly feeling a bit outnumbered.

“Okay, fine, maybe stolen is not the right word”, he rectified. “But the thing is, the Miyagi sensei hates our dojo. Even before Cobra Kai opened he came here to threaten Sensei Lawrence, I saw it. And he tried to get us banned from the tournament.”

Suddenly Sophie looked at her watch and yelped.

“Girls, if we want to catch the next bus, we need to run! Hey, Keiko, the three of us are going to Aisha’s pool, do you want to join us?” she asked.

“No, sorry. I have to wait for my brother to pick me up; we’re going to San Diego with our parents this weekend. Maybe some other day.”

“Aww, bummer! See you on Monday, then. Bring your swimming stuff and we’ll go to the pool after class”, said Aisha.

The three girls ran towards the bus stop. All the other kids had left too, so Keiko and Miguel sat on the ground in front of the mini-mart.

“Why don’t you go to the pool with them?” she asked Miguel.

“I promised my Mom I would have dinner at home today. She’s a nurse, and this is her first free night in two weeks.”

“Yeah, I know a bit about that stuff”, Keiko answered with a sigh. “My parents are doctors, and sometimes I don’t see both of them in the same room for days. Working at a hospital is hard.”

They both sat in silence, tired after class and happy to have found a bit of common ground. Keiko was the first to speak again, because something was nagging at her brain… and she was never shy to ask what she wanted to know.

“Hey, can I ask you something? It may be an inconvenient question.”

“I love those. Shoot.”

“Grace mentioned that Sensei Lawrence had a son… and that he trained at Miyagi-Do. Am I the only one who finds that weird? Do you know him?”  

Miguel frowned. He didn’t especially enjoy talking about certain people. “Yeah. And if you’ve seen the All Valley tournament online, you also know who he is: the one I beat in the finals.”

“Robby Keene? That cute guy is Sensei’s son?”

“Ew, you think Keene is cute? He’s a jerk.”

“Well, he’s got some nice moves”, she observed. “At least on YouTube. Maybe he won’t be like that in person. But of course I don’t expect you to think the same… you mentioned a girlfriend, so I guess you’re not into boys, right?”

“No, I’m not into boys. But even if I was, Keene wouldn’t be exactly my first choice”, said Miguel making a disgusted face.

“Why do you hate him?” asked Keiko, now more curious than before. “He lost to you on the tournament... So he has at least one reason to hate _you_ , but not the other way around.”

“He stole my girlf…” the boy stopped and corrected himself right on time. “He made my girlfriend break up with me. Happy now?”

“Well, no. That blows. But you should be blaming her, in any case, not him. Are they together now?”

“I don’t think so… but you’re right, it blows.” Miguel let his head fall between his shoulders; he felt pathetic, acting all mopey in front of someone he had just met, but he couldn’t help it.

“Yeah. Sorry for asking, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad… I just wanted to make some sense out of this Cobra Kai soap opera that you have here.”

The boy let out a somewhat bitter laugh. “I guess things have been pretty dramatic here from the start. I hope we didn’t scare you with all our problems.”

“Scare me? Come on! I love a good drama, this place is fantastic! And I like that you guys do some real karate… my old dojo in Cleveland was a drag”, she said with a frown. “Girls could only spar with girls, and boys with boys. And our Sensei treated girls as if we were porcelain dolls… It was called Blackbelt Academy, but we called it Boring Academy. If my parents had allowed it, I would have quit.”

“Cobra Kai is everything but boring. I think you’re going to fit right in with us, here and at school; pity that you won’t come to class with me, Aisha and Hawk.”

“Yeah, I’m a junior this year. But it’s fine, I’ll be in the same grade as Grace and Sophie… sorry, Pride and Joy. I still haven’t got the knack of the nicknames. And Caleb is also my age, I think. A high school full of Cobras!”

“Yeah, only Tim and Bert are still in junior high”, said Miguel, making a mental roll call of all the Cobra Kai students. “And Rattler in elementary, of course. She’s the true Cobra... standing alone in the face of danger.”

“Danger? In elementary school?” Keiko’s tingling laugh resonated again.

“Well, not for Rattler. She can kick her way out of anything.”

A few yards away from them, a car honked; Keiko waved at the driver and grabbed her backpack. “Finally, there’s my brother! I wonder what took him so long... Hey, thanks for waiting with me, Miguel. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“See you”, said the boy, waving back at her and unchaining his bike from the rack.

On his way home he thought of Keiko. More accurately, he mused over some of Keiko’s words.

_I just find it funny that you think a person can be stolen._

It was a way of seeing it, of course; a way he hadn’t considered before. But the other girls had nodded at Keiko as if she was absolutely right. And if Keiko was right… then maybe he shouldn’t be mad at Keene anymore. Or should he? After all, the guy had also weaseled his way into Sam’s family, he had made them think he was a perfect fucking angel. On the other hand, Miguel was sure they would always despise him for the simple fact of being a Cobra… and of course Sam’s father had all that awful history with Sensei Lawrence. Even if Sam decided to go back with him one day, her parents would make that impossible.

The sane thing to do would be to forget about her and start dating other girls. Like Keiko, for instance. She was pretty, and fun, and great at karate… then why wasn’t he attracted to her at all? He wished he could forget about Samantha, stop thinking of her every day… and especially every night. He wished he didn’t have all those wet dreams, dreams of things that had never happened between him and Sam. Or between him and any other girl, for that matter.

Realizing that it wasn’t very smart to be having erotic thoughts while riding a bike, Miguel blinked and centered his mind on the road. At least Keiko was right about one thing: there was more drama in Cobra Kai than in those telenovelas his Yaya watched after dinner.

Why was everything so complicated when it came to girls?

* * *

 


	15. Espresso

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny and Kate have their long-expected date. And some fun afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again, with a chapter that I've been expecting to write for a long time. It was quite hard (no pun intended), because it has been ages since the last time I wrote a sex scene. Warning; the rating for the story has gone up (obviously), but I've tried to keep it a tad away from being full-out porn.
> 
> You tell me if I've succeeded. Happy reading!

**CHAPTER 15. ESPRESSO**

“And that’s how I got Cobra Kai reinstated, just in time to sign up for the tournament.”

Kate focused her attention on the man sitting in front of her. He was wearing his blue suit again, this time without a tie... she had even done a double take when he had arrived to pick her up. Johnny looked content, relaxed, proud of himself. It was amazing how he could look like an entirely different person with a simple change of clothes. And of scenery, of course: he had brought her to a cute little restaurant that resembled a 1950s diner, with a black and white checkered floor and red pleather chairs. It wasn’t what she had expected at all, and at the same time it felt like the right place.

The conversation had flowed effortlessly since their arrival; Johnny had been filling the blanks in the story of how he had met Miguel, clashed with his old high school enemy, and reopened the old Cobra Kai dojo. She already knew many of those things: most of that information had come out while they were getting ready for the rent trial. But some of the most trivial facts, which happened to be the most personal ones, had been left out.

“I think you’re doing a fantastic job with those children. Yes, they overstepped the boundaries a little at the tournament… but I’m sure you can work on that with them, make them see that sometimes playing fair is more important than winning.”

“Sometimes.” Johnny let out a sigh. “I’m trying to get it into their thick heads… It’s harder than I thought, especially with some of the older boys. Miguel hasn’t been himself for months, he’s been a moody mess since he broke up with LaRusso’s daughter. But he was quite chummy with the new Japanese girl today... I’m going to make them spar together until there’s a spark. Or a flame, or whatever makes kids tick these days.”

“You can’t play matchmaker with teenagers”, said Kate, amused that Johnny was shipping his students with one another. “You can try, but in the end they like who they like.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that. Hawk is a bigger problem; he’s been acting up, talking back to me… He reminds me of one of my high school friends, a Cobra Kai. He reminds me of him so much that it’s almost scary.”

He observed Kate closely, hoping that all the talk about Cobra Kai and the kids wasn’t boring her. Going on a date was one of those things he hadn’t practised in a long time... unless he counted meeting women in bars as dates, but those situations were different. A drink or three, an exchange of trashy pick-up lines, and wham, bam, thank you ma’am. No, that wasn’t the way he wanted things to go this time. He would have to recall what the Johnny Lawrence of his youth would have done.

For starters, the old Johnny wouldn’t have monopolized the conversation. He would have asked things about the girl, thrown some compliments around, told her she looked pretty.

“Enough karate talk, I don’t want to bore you with stories about my twenty kids”, he joked. “Tell me about yours. I know Rattler was born in India and that you adopted her, but… that’s all.”

Kate had just finished her appetizer. She lifted her eyes from her plate and smiled. She always felt overly proud when someone asked about Rani.

“You already know more about her than you think. You must have realized by now how smart she is… and how headstrong. She’s incapable of standing still, she runs everywhere… her kindergarten teacher suggested that I should have her tested for ADHD, but it turns out she’s just full of energy.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. Three days ago it was super hot at the dojo because one of the ceiling fans broke. Almost all of the kids were panting and begging for mercy after ten minutes of class… And Rattler was bouncing on her feet as if nothing happened. She never gets tired”, said Johnny with a smirk. “Do you have her since she was a baby?”

“Almost. I made the decision of adopting about seven years ago”, answered Kate. “It was a long process, with lots of paperwork, I won’t bore you with the details. After a year or so the adoption was approved and I went to Bangalore to meet Rani and pick her up. She was the tiniest two-year-old I had ever seen! My parents were disappointed that I wasn’t assigned a newborn baby, but I didn’t really care. Then when I held her for the first time she laughed... and she stole my heart. I’m not going to lie and tell you it was easy raising her, especially during the first year… but she’s my whole world.” She looked at Johnny with caution, trying to see if she was boring him. “I have to warn you, you’ve just made the mistake of asking a mother about her daughter. I could talk for hours… so please stop me when you think it’s too much.”

Right in that moment the waitress arrived with the entrées, and Johnny waited until the girl had left. He had ordered his usual favorite, ribeye steak and fries, and he was surprised to see that Kate had chosen an old fashioned classic: chicken and waffles.

“I thought women always worried about calories.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Sorry, that was… that was stupid.”

Kate just raised an eyebrow and laughed it out.

“No, it’s fine… life may be too short for counting calories, but I try to eat healthy during the week so I can enjoy myself when I eat out. So you weren’t far away from the truth, many women do worry about calories. And others don’t.”

“Seems I have a lot to learn about modern women”, he conceded, relieved that his careless comment hadn’t earned him a lecture.

“Modern women?” she asked, taking a small bite of her chicken. “I’m just a person, that’s all… I’ve never thought of myself as particularly _modern_.”

“But you are. You’ve got a fancy job, you have your life all sorted out, you’re independent. I mean, you’re not like…” Johnny interrupted himself. He wasn’t entirely sure how to say what he thought without coming out as rude.

“It’s okay, I know what you mean. I’m not a wife with a house in the suburbs, a dog, a husband, and 2.5 children”, Kate finished for him. She saw Johnny was trying not to make any offensive comments, but at the same time she couldn’t help finding it funny. “Did you know that women can vote now?”

“Really? Since when?” he asked, feigning surprise.

“Nineteen twenty. Practically yesterday... you may have not heard.”

“Well, I agree with the working thing, but voting… that’s taking things a bit too far”, he joked.

“Oh! That just gave me an idea… I’m going to be a suffragette for Halloween this year.”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “No, come on… that’s lame. I’m sure I can think of a cooler costume for us.”

Kate realized he had said _us_ ; did that mean he was thinking of them as a couple? A couple that could last until November? She blushed slightly, but she didn’t say anything.

Johnny noticed her silence and kept asking questions before the pause got awkward.

“What do you usually do for Halloween?”

“When we lived in San Francisco I always went trick-or-treating with Rani, and with other moms and children, but… It’s been ages since the last time I dressed up. I was going to do it last year, I even got a friend to lend me a flapper costume, but in the end I was too self conscious. I should have done it, it was a pretty boring night.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t half as bad as my last Halloween”, said Johnny in a downcast voice. “I failed to help Miguel when some jerks kicked his ass at the school dance. The poor kid ended up all battered and bruised… his Mom didn’t take it too well, I almost lost my only student.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. But things got better after that day, right?”

“Yeah, they did. And at least the boy wore a cool skeleton costume, one that used to be mine. Me and my friends got our asses kicked wearing those costumes too, maybe I should have realized it would bring him bad luck.”

Kate remembered when Johnny had come clean about the incident with the Japanese Sensei… on the day of the trial, after Daniel LaRusso mentioned it during lunch and almost ruined everybody’s mood. She tried to change the topic before Johnny became upset.

“Do you keep contact with your high school friends? You must have been a tight bunch if you were together all day at school and at karate practice.”

Johnny closed his eyes and smiled, and for a moment he seemed miles away from there.

“We were inseparable, the five of us. Bobby and I even went to college together, until…” he interrupted himself abruptly and fidgeted with his fork. He still hadn’t talked to Kate about Laura’s death, about how he had dropped out of Stanford. Another thing he couldn’t tell her yet in case she freaked out… in case she didn’t want to go out with a loser with only a high school diploma.

“Anyway”, he continued, “Bobby is the only one I keep contact with. He lives South of Los Angeles, I had dinner with him and his wife last year. Jimmy lives in the area too, he calls sometimes… but I haven’t seen him since his wedding. Tommy joined the Army and moved around a bit, I lost track of him after a while. And Dutch… God, I have no idea what happened to Dutch. Fell off the face of the Earth years ago. He was always the wild one, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was exploring the Amazonian jungle or something like that.”

“It’s hard to keep in touch with people after so long”, noticed Kate. “I barely talk to any of my high school friends anymore… I exchange messages at Christmas with a few of them, but that’s all.”

“Right. Nobody ever tells you how much life changes after high school.”

They ate in silence for a few moments, enjoying the food and exchanging the occasional glance across the table. When it was time for dessert, both of them agreed on sharing the blueberry cheesecake.

“More calories”, she observed, digging her spoon into the luxurious slice of cake covered in berries. “This will cost me at least two hours at the gym.”

“Now that I know you don’t care about calories, I’ll take you out for cake more often.”

“Challenge accepted. Let’s make it chocolate next time.”

“With whipped cream?” he asked with a mischievous smile.

“Oh, God, yes...” she whispered.

Johnny licked his lips and fixed his eyes on the half-eaten dessert. It wasn’t his intention, but he was starting to feel jealous of a slice of cake.

“What do you want to do next?” he asked, a little impatient. “Let’s go have a drink somewhere. I mean, if you want.”

“That sounds nice, but… don’t you have to drive?”

Kate tried to make it sound like she wasn’t scolding Johnny for thinking of driving after drinks. He’d only had one beer with dinner, but she knew he had a history of drinking a bit too much. Another thing to add to the list of topics one shouldn’t touch on a first date, another thing that could get awkward if she brought it out.

Johnny nodded, struggling to think of an alternative. He definitely didn’t want the date to end so early; but he also didn’t know if a suggestion of going to his apartment would be too forward for Kate. Fortunately for him, she made a suggestion of her own.

“We could go to my place and have coffee”, she said in a soft voice, trying not to blush or sound like a nervous girl.

“Sounds great”, answered Johnny, secretly grateful that she had taken the lead.

He called the waitress and asked for the check, feeling a bit confused. Of course, he knew what it meant when a woman invited him to her place after dinner… or, at least, he used to know. Was that one of those things that had changed within the last decades? Did an invitation for coffee after hours suddenly mean just coffee?

The girl arrived with the check at once, and Kate hid her hands under the table, fighting the impulse to reach for her purse while Kevin’s words echoed in her mind.

_Just let the man pay like it’s 1984._

It kept being 1984 while Johnny paid, held her chair when she got up, and held the door of his car open for her. Even when he turned on the radio and it blared ‘Head over Heels’ by the Go-Go’s. Kate smiled and reclined on her seat in silence, enjoying the brief moment of time travel.

“I like your car. I’m not an expert on cars or anything... but it’s nice.”

“You should have seen my old Firebird. It was a real trooper”, said Johnny. “If I still had that car I’d drop the top and drive us to the beach to watch the stars.”

Despite his protests about the loss of the Firebird, the truth was that he liked his new car. And he loved driving, especially driving with a pretty woman beside him. Johnny noticed that Kate’s dress had slid up her thighs a little, giving him a view of just enough leg to put him on edge.

He had been the perfect gentleman at dinner, he had been a gentleman for too fucking long. Hoping he wasn’t overstepping any modern first date boundaries, Johnny leaned over the distance between him and Kate and kissed her. It caught her by surprise, her breath hitched for a second... but then she leaned into the kiss and put her hand on the back of his neck. She had no way of knowing that it was one of Johnny’s weak spots... and he reacted on pure impulse, letting go of the gearshift and putting a hand on her knee, a searching hand that made her gasp and squirm in her seat.

A car honked behind them; the light was green again, so Johnny turned his attention back to driving. At this point he was practically on auto pilot, and he drove swiftly through the streets of Reseda. He knew where her building was, of course... he had known for decades, and this was his neighborhood now too. It was another trick of destiny that Kate had moved all the way from San Francisco and landed only a ten minute walk away from him.

“You can park over there”, said Kate when they turned the corner next to South Seas. She sounded a little out of breath, and Johnny couldn’t suppress a proud smile.

He tried to focus on the road, the parking spot, anything but the temptation next to him. The last thing he wanted was to jump on her in the parking lot and scare her away… He followed her upstairs and kept his distance while Kate opened the door and stepped inside.

The apartment was bigger than he expected. Not over-the-top grand like the mansions in Encino where he used to do most of his handiwork, but it definitely wasn’t what he supposed to see in the place where the Jersey twerp used to live. There was an impression of fresh paint and new furniture, and he also recognized some signs of a luxury interior: immaculate white walls, dark hardwood floors, stone countertops, even a fancy induction cooktop. Elegant and simple, with no frills or extravagant knicknacks; the apartment matched the style of its resident.

He felt relieved that they hadn’t gone to his place. Despite the thorough cleaning and Rosa’s help, it still felt like a dump compared to number 20 of South Seas.

“This is nice”, he said, standing in the middle of the living room.

“Thanks. It’s not a palace, but I’m happy with it. My next door neighbor says the building was quite awful before they renovated it in the nineties. You know, after the earthquake. But please, sit. I’m going to make coffee, it won’t take a minute.”

Johnny took off his jacket and left it on a chair before sitting on the couch. From there he had a clear view of the kitchen area, where a shiny Nespresso machine —of course Kate couldn’t live without one of those things at home— occupied the place of honor on the countertop. She filled up the water deposit and got two cups from the cabinet behind her.

“How do you want it?”

 _I want you closer_ , he thought.

“Espresso. Please.”

There was something else Johnny noticed in the apartment… something that was missing.

“Where’s Rattler? At your brother’s?”

“No, she’s sleeping over at Kevin’s”, Kate answered over the whirring noise of the coffee maker. “He texted me an hour ago; apparently she and Oliver were having the time of their lives watching Disney movies and eating too much popcorn.”

She approached the living room, left the coffee tray on the low table in front of Johnny and sat beside him. Not too close, not too far… another sign he didn’t know how to interpret; now that he knew they were alone he was dying to kiss her again, and they were running out of polite conversation topics.

Kate sat back on the couch and sipped her coffee.

“The other day you mentioned you knew someone who used to live in South Seas”, she said, remembering what Johnny had said in her office. “Anyone I know?”

“No one important”, answered Johnny. He didn’t want LaRusso intruding on his date, not even in spirit. “But you’re right about the renovation thing, this building was a slum in the eighties. I remember the pool was empty and covered in green slime.”

“That’s what Mrs. Wright says. You didn’t live around here back then, right?”

“No, I… we lived in Encino Hills.”

“Nice neighborhood.”

Johnny took a drink of his espresso. It was very strong and sweet, like a shot of pure caffeine. He noticed Kate had already finished hers… How could one tiny woman drink so much coffee?

“Doesn’t this stuff keep you awake all night?”

There was a sudden silence on Kate’s part. She looked at Johnny, at her empty cup, and at him again. Then she left the cup on the table and took a slow breath before speaking.

“I was hoping you would keep me awake.”

So simple, so straightforward. All Johnny needed was a clear sign… and he got it.

The next few seconds felt like an eternity, like he was moving under water. He scooted next to Kate and placed a hand on her cheek; tracing her skin with his thumb, he brought his lips to hers. She tasted like coffee, of course, and sugar; but sweeter than all that was the way she leaned into his kiss.

Johnny felt the blood thrumming in his ears. He wasn’t going to rush things; the last thing he wanted (and the last thing he imagined _she_ wanted) was a disappointing quickie on the couch. But the three days since that first kiss at her office had been worse than torture. He needed her, urgently, and this time there would be no interruptions.

The kiss broke, and Kate slid her hand around the back of his neck. When he approached her again she met him halfway, letting out one of her little moans… a sound that went straight to his groin. He nipped on her lower lip slowly, teasing his way into her mouth while he pulled her closer against him.

She splayed her hands across his chest; Johnny was sure she could feel his heart thumping, even more when she undid one button of his shirt. And then the next. Her fingers fumbled with the white fabric, as if she was scared to go lower… He still didn’t know if she was shy in bed, or what she liked. Or how far she’d actually want to go, even if the ‘keeping her awake’ thing was an almost certain green light. All he knew was that she was driving him mad with want, with just a simple touch of fingertips on his collarbone. All he could think of was how much he needed to touch her, to taste her… He wanted nothing more than to devour her whole, but he couldn’t afford to be harsh or careless with someone like her. Not with Kate.

Taking a deep breath to cool the scorching fire inside of him, he ran his hands up her arms until he reached the straps of her blue dress. He slid them down slowly, one after the other, and the bra straps along with them. Every inch of bare flesh that appeared before his eyes was like new land begging to be explored.

Reclined on the couch, the subject of Johnny’s exploration kicked off her pumps and struggled to keep her eyes open. Her first instinct had been to close them, but she also needed to see him, to feel his burning gaze on her. His touch on her skin was rough, exciting. He was a man who worked with his hands, after all… and he knew perfectly well how to use them. Kate felt Johnny’s mouth on her shoulder... kissing, biting, sending chills down her spine.

 _He bites_ , she remembered. _I’m going to wake up tomorrow covered in hickies, like a cheerleader after a frat party._

The silly comparison made her laugh, and Johnny stopped to look at her.

“Having fun?”

“Oh, lots”, she whispered, tilting her head to give him a peck on the lips.

“Let’s find out how much more I can make you laugh.”

Kate was suddenly aware of Johnny’s hand on her thigh, inching up little by little, and she let her head fall back with a breathy sigh.

Johnny hissed at the sight of her neck, exposed and inviting in front of him… Tempting him, and he had never been good at resisting temptation. His lips traced a line from her ear to the point where her neck met her shoulder; her skin felt so soft under his mouth, so delicate… with some hint of flowery scent where she had probably applied perfume earlier.  When he finally swirled his tongue on the hollow of her throat, he felt her whimper.

“Looks like I found your weak spot”, he teased.

Kate pushed him away a couple of inches, until they were face to face again.  “Keep searching… I’ve got more than one”, she purred, looking at him with her sultry brown eyes, inviting him to see what else he could do to make her shiver under his touch.

No, that wasn’t an invitation; it was a challenge. Just what he needed to awake the snake inside of him, to bring forth the beast… but not there, not on a couch. The situation deserved better.

With a superhuman effort he removed his hand from between Kate’s legs and sat up.

“Bedroom?” he muttered, too worked up for a complete sentence.

Kate nodded and placed a hand on his cheek. A small, soft hand, with those red nails he wanted to feel raking down his back so badly. With a swift move he grabbed her wrist and planted a kiss on her palm.

She got up and tiptoed down the corridor, barefoot, with Johnny following her. She didn’t turn on the lights when they reached her room, but the city lights glowing through the window were enough. Not that he cared about what her bedroom looked like… as long as there was a bed. Or an old mat, or even the floor. Johnny was blind to absolutely everything except the woman in front of him.

Kate stopped before reaching the bed and stood close to him. Johnny could heard the maddening sound of a zipper being undone, and her dress fell and pooled by her feet.

Now he wished the lights were on, now he couldn't get enough of the sight of her. He put one hand on the curve of her waist; he knew that curve was going to become an obsession… and, as obsessions went, he was going to welcome this one.

One last longing gaze and he traveled down, once more exploring the soft skin of her throat with his ravenous mouth. At last he lowered his mouth to one of her breasts, still covered in black lace, and gave it a playful bite; that earned him a hair pull, a delicious pang of pain that made him hiss and arch his back like the proverbial snake. Soon Kate’s hands were grasping his shirt again, trying to undo the remaining buttons. Too many clothes, too many obstacles between his body and hers. The shirt fell to the floor next to Kate’s dress. Johnny reached down to undo his belt… but she got there first, unbuttoning belt and pants with one hand and stroking him with the other. A light touch, still with too much fabric in between, but he wasn’t expecting it and it almost sent him over the edge.

He needed to regain control or he would be gone in seconds. Grabbing her waist again he turned her around, pushing her down on the bed. She didn’t offer any resistance, letting her head fall on the pillow with a silent sigh.

Standing at the foot of the bed, Johnny stopped to look at her one last time before joining her. Oh, she was a sight... half naked, ready and waiting. Waiting for him, wanting him.

As soon as he got on the bed he slid one hand under her back and undid her bra. She tried to cover her breasts, out of instinct, but he stopped her, holding her wrists to keep her arms open.

“Don’t do that, Kate. You’re perfect.”

“Johnny, nobody’s perf–”

He placed a finger on her lips to stop her.

“You don’t have to be the voice of reason all the time. Close your eyes.”

“But…”

“Shhh... Close them.”

He could feel that she was skittish, probably still unsure if she could trust him. And he didn’t want to look awkward or desperate… but this was something he’d been dying to do for weeks, and now it was kind of urgent. He drew a trail of wet, open-mouthed kisses down her breasts and her stomach; each one of them elicited a small moan from Kate. When he reached the edge of her panties he took his time sliding them down, uncovering the last bit of her that had remained hidden.

Lying on the bed, with her eyes tightly closed, Kate was attacked by a hundred sensations, one after another. When she felt Johnny taking off her panties she grasped the sheet with one nervous hand. She was choosing to trust him, to let him do whatever he wanted with her… and from the looks of it he knew perfectly well what he wanted. As he planted a kiss on the inside of her thigh she held her breath, waiting, and then…

_Oh. Oh, God._

She felt his mouth on her center and let out a moan so loud that it was almost a scream. It had been so long, and he was so good… licking up slowly, without haste, as if he was savoring her… and the fact that she couldn’t see him made the sensations more intense. She lowered a hand and raked her fingers through his hair; not to guide him, there was no need for that. But Kate needed to feel him more, to let him know what he was doing to her.

When her patience ran out she disobeyed Johnny’s order and opened her eyes… and the sight of him between her thighs was almost too much. In the penumbra of the room she saw a pair of impossibly blue eyes above a wolfish grin, the grin of a man who wouldn’t stop until he had ruined her for anybody else. She felt her climax approaching like a wave of fire, and her brain almost lost the ability to form words.

“Please… please!” she keened.

Johnny never broke eye contact, he was enjoying her reactions too much… not even when her orgasm hit her and he had to grab her hips and pin her to the bed to keep her from thrashing. That sight was just too beautiful to miss.

“Oh, you’re evil”, said Kate when her agitated breathing had calmed down a little. “You’re a wicked, wicked man.”

“I thought you already knew that”, he whispered.

“You’ve just killed me.”

“Oh, no”, he said, resting his cheek on her stomach for a moment before crawling up the bed again. “No, I need you alive for what comes next.”

What came next was Kate sitting up and reaching below Johnny’s waist; she didn’t hesitate this time, and soon Johnny’s boxers joined the pile of discarded clothes on the floor. He wanted to keep his eyes open, he wanted to watch… but as soon as she started touching him he couldn’t see anything. She stroked him slowly at first, gripping harder and working her hand faster in response to his muttered curses. Soon her hot little mouth was kissing his chest, then his neck, then moving close to his ear… until Johnny felt teeth grazing his earlobe, and his hips jerked forward in an involuntary motion.

He grabbed her by the back of the neck. “Stop”, he grunted.

“I thought you liked biting.”

“Stop or I’m going to… Damn it, Kate. Now.” He took a deep breath and kissed her while she moved her hands to his shoulders. “Do you have a…?”

“Yes, right here… wait a second.”

Kate moved away from him to open the drawer of her nightstand; to Johnny the loss of her warmth felt like a burst of physical pain. He snatched the condom from her hand, opened it and put it on as fast as he could. Damn, he was anxious and fumbling like a fucking teenager, and it was all her fault. But soon she was close to him again, with her hands in his hair — he loved that, and she was proving to be a very fast learner —, and there was no more anxiety, no more worry, just heart-wrenching want because the long wait was over.

He guided Kate until she was lying on the bed once more, under him; with one long thrust of his hips he hit home and he was completely sheathed in her warm, wet heat. She put her arms around his neck and sighed, tilting her hips forward to let him know she wanted him to move.

And move he did, setting a steady pace, enjoying every bit of sensation, listening to Kate’s breath come out in short, staccato moans.

The pace increased; one of Johnny’s hands grabbed the headboard for support, and at one point he started thrusting so hard that the bed slammed against the wall a couple of times; Kate looked at him, alarmed, and dug her nails on his shoulders to warn him.

“Johnny, I’ve got neighbors!”

“Good. Let’s make them learn my name”, he growled.

He was already reaching his bursting point, encouraged by the woman beneath him. Now her nails were digging on his back, engraving a line of tiny half-moons on his skin, like battle scars. Without slowing down he slid a hand between her bodies, searching for the source of her pleasure, and almost immediately he felt her tightening around him. She threw her head back and whimpered, holding onto him, circling his hips with her thighs in a desperate embrace.

The way her orgasm made her clench and pulse around him accelerated his own climax, and he soon felt a coiling tip within his gut, a red hot fire that burned around them as he finally found his release with a loud groan. Trying not to crush her under his weight he came to a halt, resting his forehead in the curve of her shoulder until his last few thrusts stopped.

And then silence, lips touching, fingers interlocking with only the sound of their panting breathing as background.

Johnny rolled off Kate, still with his eyes fixed on hers. Around him, the room was spinning.

“Everything good?” he asked, brushing his lips on her forehead.

“Perfect”, came the almost inaudible answer. Kate still hadn’t moved, she just lay there completely spent.

“Be right back.”

Some little part of Kate’s fuzzy mind registered the light of the ensuite bathroom being turned on. A minute later, when Johnny came out of the bathroom, she was just awake enough to welcome him beneath the sheets with a drowsy gesture. She felt too tired to move or to speak; and when he slid into the bed and put his arms around her she fell asleep in seconds.

* * *

  
In the apartment next door, Kate's neighbor Mrs. Wright had taken off her hearing aids before going to bed, like she did every night.

The good woman, oblivious to everything, had been snoring happily for more than an hour.


	16. Afterimage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny and Kate make plans for a second date. Daniel takes his students to train in Nature, and shares his plans with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot of exciting things on this chapter (I used up all the excitement on the previous one), but I hope you'll like it.

CHAPTER 16. AFTERIMAGE

Johnny Lawrence woke up with a smile on his lips and a handful of woman in his arms.

He placed a hand on the curve of Kate’s waist, feeling the quiet motion of her breathing under his palm. Now that he could see her more clearly in the morning light, that’s what she was, a handful. Tiny waist, small tits. A far call from the tall buxom blondes he could have sworn were his type: Shannon, Ali... a dozen more. Their faces and names seemed too distant to matter, anyway. And he wanted this one to matter, he wanted this to become something more than dinner and fucking, and an awkward goodbye the next morning.

He’d have to think of a way of not screwing things up.

Lost in thought, it took him a few seconds to realize that Kate had opened her eyes and was looking at him from under her lashes.

“Good morning.” Her voice sounded deliciously husky and sleepy, and Johnny found himself smiling at her like an idiot.

“Morning. You’re a light sleeper”, he noticed.

“It comes with the Mom job description. Before I got Rani, it took an earthquake to wake me up.” She stirred in his arms and planted a small kiss on his lips. “Did you sleep well?”

“Great.”

“You don’t snore.”

“You sound disappointed. If it bothers you so much, I can learn”, he said with a smirk.

“Nah, I can live with it.” She rearranged the sheet that had slid down her body, but when she tried to get up Johnny’s arm tightened around her waist.

“Let me go… We can’t stay in bed all day, as tempting as it sounds.”

“I know”, he said. “But now that I’ve got you exactly where I want… there’s something I need to know.”

Before Kate could react, he flipped her onto her back and grabbed her wrists, pinning her hands to the pillow above her head.

“Hey! What are you doing?” she asked, laughing.

Above her, Johnny tried to put on a serious face, but Kate could see he was trying really hard not to laugh.

“Now, you’re going to tell me your roller derby name.”

“Oh, again with that?” she said, rolling her eyes. “I was hoping you’d forgotten about it.”

“Tough luck. And this time I’m not letting you go until you tell me. You’re at my mercy now, roller girl.”

“I remind you that this is my bed, not a karate mat.”

“That’s why I’m giving you a warning first.” He lowered his head and moved his mouth to her neck, to the area he knew was her weak spot. “I have ways of making you sing, little bird.”

“Hmmm… all right, it’s not classified information. But let go of my hands first”, she said, wiggling her fingers. “It’s going to be a long explanation.”

Johnny released her hands, but at the same time he repositioned himself so that she was practically caged in his arms.

“I’m listening.”

“Okay, here it goes: I don’t know if I’ve told you before, but my mother’s side of the family is French.”

“Canadian?”

“No, cajun. My great-grandparents moved from New Orleans to Seattle in the Depression. Don’t fall asleep yet, I promise there’s a good reason I’m telling you all this.”

“Go on.”

“Anyway… one of the few traditions my family keeps is that everybody gets a French middle name. Including my brother and me, even if the most French thing about us is our love for freshly baked croissants.”

“Katharine B. Williams”, Johnny muttered, remembering her business card. “I always wondered what the B stood for.”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “The B is for Belle. Don't start laughing or I’ll kick you out of bed!”

He managed not to laugh, but he couldn’t help an amused smile.

“When I was in high school I hated my middle name with the fire of a thousand suns”, Kate continued. “So, imagine how I felt when I got accepted in the roller derby team and the captain decided to call me… Belle the Beast.”

This time Johnny couldn’t help it. He rolled off Kate, laughing to his heart’s content.

“What kind of sports captain took a look at you and saw a beast? Was she blind?”

“Hey, all roller girls have names like that! And, for your information, I once made a girl twice my size cry during a match.”

“Oh, I bet you were really fierce.”

“Don’t make me regret telling you”, she said, putting her arms around his neck. “By the way, if you have any other potentially embarrassing questions… now is your chance, before I run away.”

She was expecting Johnny to crack another joke, or to ask some silly question about her high school days. Instead, he sat up and stared at her, suddenly serious.

“There’s something else I never got to ask you. But… It’s going to sound rude. I mean, it’s one of those things you shouldn’t ask a woman.”

“Okay… this woman is giving you permission to ask her anything.”

“It’s just… I don’t know how old you are.”

Kate blinked a couple of times. That was definitely not the question she was expecting. “Oh. Is it important?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

She observed that Johnny’s shoulders had tensed up, and she wondered what exactly was he worried about.

“Well, I am at an advantage here, because your birth date was in the lawsuit file. I didn’t mean to peek, but I had to read the whole thing. And it’s not fair that I know yours and you don’t know mine, so… I was born on the 31st of May, 1976. I’m a Gemini. I’m forty-two years old.”

Johnny let out a long breath, and Kate saw him unclench a little. Whatever number he had been fearing, at least the answer had left him satisfied. She sat up and wrapped her arms around him, hoping to put the age matter to rest, but he still wasn’t done. He placed a hand on her cheek and examined her face for a few moments.

“You don’t look forty-two.”

“Thank you; you don’t look your age either. Is nine years too much of a difference to you, Johnny? Because I honestly don’t care.”

“No. It’s… all right, I guess. I didn’t want you to think I’m too old for you.”

“That’s nonsense. We’re both adults… I’m not sure if we’re _responsible_ adults, but that has nothing to do with age. Besides, nine years is perfectly normal; it’s not like we’re Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva.”

“Who?”

“Nevermind”, she said with a smile. He kept being completely oblivious to certain cultural references, and Kate couldn’t help finding it charming. “Anyway, we should get out of bed and hit the shower, it’s getting late.”

“Mmmm… a shower sounds great”, he hummed against her skin. “Together?”

“Not if you want breakfast, or we’ll be here all morning”, she said.

“Killjoy.”

“Sorry. I have to go to Kevin’s and pick up Rani, and then I promised my brother I’d have lunch with him and his family. It’s my younger nephew’s second birthday and I really shouldn’t miss it.”

“No, of course.”

“I’m free again tonight… Rani is going to stay the night with her cousins, we can get takeaway and watch a movie.”

“That sounds better. My place?” he offered, still a little anxious about the state of his apartment.

“Do you own a DVD player?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I may be older than you, but I’m not that ancient… I bought one of those last month”, he confessed. “Miguel lent me a movie and I had nowhere to watch it.”

“It’s a date, then”, she said, getting out of bed and walking towards the bathroom.

Johnny stretched out on the bed. He wanted to follow her but he knew what would happen if he did… so he commanded all his self-control and waited a few minutes before strolling into the bathroom. He just needed to see her silhouette behind the translucent shower door, to know that she wasn’t too far away.

The sound of the water stopped; Kate peeked out from behind the screen and pretended to be shocked.

“Somebody call the police... there’s a naked man in my bathroom.”

“Do you need help throwing him out, ma’am?” he smirked.

“Oh, no! I just need him to give me my towel. I’m getting cold.”

He grabbed the towel from the rack and wrapped it around her. He also copped a feel, of course; restraint was one thing, and letting a chance pass was another.

“You smell good.”

“Mmmm… thank you. I’m going to get started on breakfast while you shower, okay?” said Kate, planting a wet kiss on his cheek.

Without giving him time to answer she went back to the bedroom and threw some clothes on. Then she checked her phone, forgotten in the depths of her purse since the night before. There was a text from Kevin, like she expected, and she was relieved to see it was only ten minutes old.

_‘Good morning, sunshine! Just checking on you.’_

_‘Morning, Kev. Everything okay with Rani?’_

_‘Wonderful. She slept like a log and now she’s devouring a mountain of french toast with strawberries on top. Oh, she says hi.’_

_‘You spoil her too much. I’m glad she behaved well, I’ll go get her in an hour or so.’_

_‘How was the date, girl? Do you need a new bed? Can you walk?’_

_‘Classy as fuck, Kevin. I’m not having this conversation over text.’_

_‘I’ll call you.’_

_‘Don’t! He’s still here.’_

_‘Ah, the joys of a brand new romance... My regards to the stud. We’ll talk later, I want the details! XO’_

She put the phone back, went to the kitchen and started prepping the food. A while later, Johnny came out of the bathroom, attracted by the smell that came from the frying pan, and wearing nothing but a towel around his hips.

“Hi! I forgot to ask you what you like for breakfast… so I’m making bacon and eggs. Oh, and pancakes.”

“How did you manage to make all that so fast?” he asked, watching the frenzied activity in front of him.

“I could lie and tell you I’m a fabulous cook, but the truth is I always make pancakes in advance and keep them in the freezer. It’s one of Rani’s favorite foods. And the rest… well, it’s just coffee, orange juice, and scrambled eggs. That’s hard to screw up.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure”, he said, remembering the awfully dry and insipid eggs he had been served at the LaRussos’ house. “God, that smells great and I’m starving.”

Kate arranged the food on the plates and put them on the table, and Johnny followed her with the coffee cups. He took another look at her before sitting down. She was wearing only panties and a long t-shirt; combined with her still wet hair, it made her look very different from her usual dolled-up self.

“Who’s the chick on your t-shirt?” he asked.

“Alanis.”

“Is that the one who screams a lot and and hates men?”

Kate put her fork down and laughed.

“She was quite vocal in the nineties, yes… and she’s always been a feminist, but I don’t think she hates men, at least not anymore. Jagged Little Pill was the soundtrack of my college years, I’ve had this shirt for ages.”

“We should do a music exchange one of these days” he suggested. “I bet we can find some bands we both like.”

She narrowed her eyes and concentrated. “Let me see… music from the 80s… Oh, do you like AC/DC? I listened to them a lot growing up, my brother Hugh has been a big fan since he was little and he always played music at full volume.”

Johnny beamed at her. “AC/DC are cool. See? You already found something we have in common. Wow, these eggs are great.”

“Thanks. But don’t expect too much wonderful food from me, I already told you I’m just a average cook.” She took a bite from her pancake and watched him eat; it had been a while since she’d had a man in a towel having breakfast at her table.

And then he caught her staring, of course.

“See something you like?” he asked, winking at her.

“If I didn’t like what I see, I would have kicked you out before breakfast”, she said in a petulant tone.

“That’s fair.”

“Speaking of fairness: you’ve been asking questions all morning, mister, so it’s my turn now.”

“Shoot.”

“I told you my middle name, under extreme persuasion, so now you have to tell me yours.”

“I guess you have to know at some point” he said, making a face. “Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Johnny, really... Why would I laugh at a name? Especially when you were a gentleman before and didn't make too much fun of mine.”

“Because it’s… Never mind, here it goes”, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if he was used to getting a bad rap when he said it. “Fitzgerald.”

“What, like the president?”

“Yeah. My mother was a huge fan of President Kennedy. She was in high school when he was killed, and… I think she was a bit in love with him back then.”

“That’s perfectly normal. Millions of women and girls were in love with him.” She stared at his face closely and brushed her fingers over his cheek. “John Fitzgerald Lawrence. It suits you.”

“Great. Now, since you don’t like yours either, let’s make a pact to never mention our middle names again.”

“Deal.”

After breakfast, Johnny retrieved his scattered clothes and got dressed while Kate loaded the dishwasher.

“So… I guess I’ll be taking off then”, he said, picking up his jacket from the chair where he had left it the night before. “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Of course! Takeaway and a movie, right?” She bit her lip, trying to think of something that both of them would like. “I have the feeling that you like Tarantino movies. Have you seen Kill Bill?”

Johnny’s blank expression told her he hadn’t, and Kate’s face lit up.

“Perfect! You’re going to love this one.”

“What’s it about?” he asked, and Kate saw her chance to have a little fun.

“Well... the protagonist is a bride.”

Of course, at the mention of the word ‘bride’, Johnny rolled his eyes. “Are we going to watch a chick flick?”

She put her arms around his neck and gave him a cheeky smile.

“Stop complaining! I promise it’s not a chick flick. Apart from the bride there’s also snakes, and snakes are your spirit animal, so I’m sure you’ll like it. And I’m not telling you anything else... it’s best if you watch it unspoiled.”

“Fine”, he gave in. “If the title is not a lie, at least one person will be killed, so it won’t be too boring.”

“Believe me, it’s anything but boring. I’ll bring the food… do you like Chinese?”

“Yeah. Especially the egg rolls.”

“Perfect! Chinese for two, with extra egg rolls.” She walked him to the door and stood on her tiptoes while he kissed her goodbye. “Until tonight, Mr. President.”

“See you later… Beast.”

* * *

  
Later that day, on a different part of the Valley, Daniel parked his SUV in the shadow of a large tree. He turned off the engine while his four students got out of the car and looked around them, delighted.

“Wow, Mr. L, this place is awesome!” exclaimed Demetri. “If it wasn’t for my allergies, I could plant a tent and live here all year.”

The boy sneezed twice, as if his allergies had gotten offended by his comment.

“Bless you”, said Daniel after locking the car. “Welcome to the Lake Balboa Park, everybody. This is where the meeting of the dojos will take place; it’s still three weeks away, but I thought a day of training in nature would do us good... so why not do it here and get to know the park a little?”

“It’s perfect, Dad”, observed Samantha. The park was indeed an idyllic environment, with its vast extensions of trees and grass, natural rock formations, and of course the beautiful blue lake.

“Where are we going to train, Sensei?” asked Shiro, always looking at the practical side of things. “We won’t want to bother anyone.”

It was a clear sunny afternoon, so of course there was quite a few people in the park: mostly families with small kids, and also some young couples and groups of friends.

“There’s a small grass field over there, close to the pier. In the shadow, so it won’t be too hot. We’ll train there today... but I don’t want you to think of this as a heavy work day, Shiro”, Daniel reminded the boy. “I wouldn’t have asked you all to sacrifice your Saturday afternoon just to do the exact same things we do every day at the dojo. Today is for meditation, mindfulness, and light exercise. And kata, of course... I don’t need to remind any of you that kata–”

“Kata is the foundation of karate”, said four voices in perfect unison, interrupting him.

“I knew repeating it a thousand times a day wouldn’t be in vain!” said Daniel while the teenagers laughed. “Come on, let’s find a place where we can leave our backpacks and the food.”

They soon reached the grass field, and piled all their stuff under a tree.

“Let’s all sit in a circle one moment”, said Daniel. “There’s a bit of news I want to share with you before we start.”

The kids sat on the grass and looked at him, expectant.

“You know I’ve been wanting to bring some more students to Miyagi-Do”, he started. “Shiro here has been a great addition... and, Demetri, you’re progressing really well considering you didn’t know anything about karate a month ago.”

Shiro bowed his head respectfully, and Demetri flashed a proud smile.

“The next step will be to engage some younger students, and we’ll have the perfect opportunity to do that in a few days. Two weeks from now, a group of twelve small kids is going to pay us a visit, courtesy of the City of Los Angeles urban camps; it will be on a Friday morning, so I’m afraid we’ll have to do a bit of an effort and rise early that day. But I really hope those children will be interested in what we do.”

“Mr. LaRusso... I have to work”, said Robby in a sad voice. “I won’t be able to...”

“Don't say one more word. Luckily for you, your boss is a really cool guy”, joked Daniel. “I’ve already told Amanda that neither of us will go to the dealership that morning. Anoush will take care of the sales, and the rest of the staff will manage the repairs and the inventory. The world is not going to end if we skip work for one day, Robby.”

“Thank you, Mr. LaRusso”, said the boy, visibly relieved. “But, if you end up signing up a lot of little kids, how will you manage with work?”

“The dealerships are doing really well this year. The truth is, I’m not irreplaceable in my own business anymore... and in part it’s thanks to you. Working too hard made me lose my balance and neglect my family once, and I won’t let that happen again.”

“But, Sensei... twelve children? Won’t that be too much for you?” asked Shiro.

“Oh, no! I expect only two or three of them at the most will be motivated enough to sign up. And that’s fine! I don’t want a crowded dojo, I want to give all of you the attention you deserve.” Daniel surveyed his students’ faces with a stern look. “But let’s face the facts, we need to think of the next generation. Shiro, you’ve just turned seventeen. The rest of you are sixteen. A year from now you’ll all leave for college, and I will have a very empty dojo... unless we get some younger kids to train. Besides, it’s best to start when you’re young, right, Sam?

“I don’t even know if I’m going to college”, whispered Robby, a bit ashamed. “And even if I end up going, it won’t be next year.”

“We’ll talk about that when the time comes. For now, just keep focusing on your work, your training and your GED. There’s no rush.”

“I’ve already started studying for my GED every night”, he announced. He felt kind of proud of his decision, even if it had been his father’s suggestion what gave him the idea.

“You’re doing great, Robby”, Sam encouraged him. “With all the study materials we downloaded last week, you’re making a lot of progress. Dad, did you know he’s really good at mathematical reasoning?”

“I’m also a complete disaster in Science”, the boy groaned.

“Hey, I could help with that if you want... Science is kind of my jam”, offered Demitri.

“Really? Thanks, man!”

Robby looked around at his karate classmates. Despite his constant feelings of inadequacy, he felt comfortable with them. It was like he had finally found his place.

“Do you know anything else about those children, Dad?” asked Samantha. “Maybe some of them will know karate already.”

“I don’t think so. Not all kids have the luxury of a home dojo like you did, Sam”, answered Daniel. “And karate is not as popular in the Valley as it was when I was your age. All I know is that they’re boys and girls, between seven and ten years old. The perfect age to start doing karate... so we’re going to present our best face to our little visitors, and hope they like us enough to stay at Miyagi-Do. And now, let’s get up and start warming up, we have a lot to do.”

The four teenagers stood up and formed a square in front of him, in their usual positions: Sam and Robby in the front, with Shiro and Demetri behind them. Daniel looked at his students proudly and took a deep breath. All his ideas were working so well, it was almost like a miracle. In the months after Mr. Miyagi’s death he had liked to imagine his old mentor looking after him and his family from Heaven. Then… then the feeling got lost over the years, but now it had come back, stronger than before. He was reconnecting with Nature, training new students, finding his balance again. Amanda was happy. Robby was any Sensei’s dream student. Anthony had been persuaded to get out of the house and do some bike riding instead of playing videogames all day. Even Sam seemed to be forgetting about the Cobra kid... Daniel hoped in secret that his daughter would take an interest in Shiro, but the events of the previous year had taught him not to interfere with Sam’s love life; he didn’t want to make her mad at him again, didn’t want to be one of those overbearing fathers.

For a moment, he had the distinct sensation that Mr. Miyagi was looking at him from wherever he was. And Daniel was sure, he was absolutely positive, that among the twelve little boys and girls that were going to visit Miyagi-Do there would be at least one with the potential to become the next karate prodigy of the San Fernando Valley.

He raised his gaze to the sky, smiling, bowed his head in an imperceptible motion, and started with the opening movements of the kata.

 


	17. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Samantha finally meets the new Cobra Kai girl. Kate goes to Johhny's apartment for dinner, a movie... and a few confessions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again with another super long chapter! I have to apologize in advance for the lack of smut; a serious conversation gets in the way. I don't like frustrating my readers like that, but there was an important reveal that needed to be in this chapter. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 17. SLEEPOVER

Sam parked her car outside Aisha’s house, grabbed her overnight bag from the trunk and ran towards the gate. She was horribly late; training at Lake Balboa had gone so well that Daniel, and the rest of the Miyagi-Do kids, had lost track of time completely. Still panting, she pushed the bell with urgency, cursing under her breath. It wasn’t because of Aisha, or Moon, they would be cool with her being late, but… the other Cobra girls would be there too. Those girls were competition (maybe in more ways than one... she thought, remembering the day at the beach), and she didn’t want to show any weakness in front of them. She was even starting to question if accepting Aisha’s invitation for a sleepover had been a good idea.

In the end Sam had decided to go. She was sincerely curious about Shiro’s sister, and she also missed hanging out with girls. It was hard for her to admit it, but some days, after lounging alone by the pool all morning and training with the Miyagi-Do boys all afternoon... she even missed Yasmine. Yes, Yasmine had been cruel, vapid, and mean... but at least she was always ready for some silly chat about fashion and celebrities. It wasn’t fun comparing nail polish shades when Sam was the only person in the dojo wearing nail polish (although, to Robby’s credit, he had let her paint his nails black once, like a trashy nineties rockstar).

When Aisha opened the door, there was a lot of noise coming from the house. Sam heard laughter, a ringtone, and also the sound of a movie in the background.

“Sam, I’m so glad you’re here! I was starting to think you had bailed out on us.”

“Sorry. We went to Lake Balboa to train, and it took longer than I thought.”

“On a Saturday? Wow, your Dad is making you all work hard.”

“He doesn’t _make_ us”, said Samantha, a little offended. “It was completely voluntary, we all wanted to go.”

Aisha looked at her friend and sighed.

“We should make a pact: no talk about karate tonight. Or about the dojos, or the tournament, or any of those things. What do you say?”

“I’m not sure… I don’t like that there are banned topics between us. We’re still best friends, right?”

“Yes, but if we start talking about Cobra Kai … things will come out. Things about your Dad and Sensei Lawrence. Oh, and Moon will get horribly bored, because she still can’t tell a round kick from a front punch”, she finished with a laugh.

“It’s a pact, then. We still can talk about clothes, movies, music… and boys.”

“Oh, boys. I’m starting to think they’re more trouble than they’re worth.”

Aisha led her friend to the living room, where other four girls were sitting on an assortment of poufs and pillows sprawled over the plush carpet.

“Girls, you remember Sam, right? Sam, you already know Grace and Sophie.”

The two girls smiled and waved. “Hi, Sam!” they said at the same time.

“And you know me”, interrupted Moon with a mouth full of sweet popcorn.

“Of course she knows you, silly! And that is Keiko, our new acquisition.”

Sam observed the new girl with curiosity. She was prettier and taller than she had imagined, and she couldn’t help feeling a bit intimidated. Shiro had told a few stories about his little sister’s prowess with karate, and also about her brash personality.

“Hi, Keiko, nice to meet you”, she said, politely. “What are you guys watching?”

“Back to the Future. Aisha had the idea of making it an 80’s theme night. After this one we can choose between… let’s see… The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Labyrinth, or St Elmo’s Fire”, said the other girl, showing her a pile of DVD cases on the table.

“I want Pretty in Pink”, said Moon. “I’ve never seen that one.”

“You’ve never seen any of them, sweetie”, admonished Keiko. “You’re completely ignorant of anything that happened in this universe before you were born.”

“Oh, I love St Elmo’s Fire!” Sam said with enthusiasm. “It’s my Dad’s favorite movie of all time.”

“It’s decided then, we’ll watch that one. Oh, no, we’re out of sweet popcorn again! Too many people with a sweet tooth in here. I’m going to make some more.”

Keiko grabbed the empty popcorn bowl and disappeared towards the kitchen, and Sam left her bag on the couch in silence. She still hadn’t decided if she liked the new girl or not, but she was definitely going to make an effort, if only for Shiro’s sake.

After a quick trip to Aisha’s room to change into her pajamas, she returned to the living room with her sleeping bag under her arm. Grace and Sophie had already laid their sleeping bags next to each other. They were wearing matching pajamas, which Sam found a little odd... And they were also feeding each other sticky bits of cinnamon roll, which was _definitely_ more than a bit unusual.

“Hey, Aisha… can I ask you something?” she whispered. “It’s about Grace and Sophie.”

Aisha looked at the lovey-dovey pair, and then at Sam. “Oh, that! I forgot you didn’t know… The answer is yes; they’re girlfriends.”

“But… but… since when?”

“I think they had their six-month-versary last week.”

“But the day we all went to the beach, they… I mean, Sophie and Miguel were all…” Samantha stammered, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Yeah, that was Mig being a little shit and trying to mess with your head a little. And succeeding, I see. For the record, I told him not to do it.”

Sam’s face went red as a beet.

“I’m going to kill him!” she huffed. “The next time I see him I’m going to kick his ass into next week! Trying to make me jealous with that silly, stupid, idiotic trick…”

“Calm down, Sam, please. Yes, it was silly, but… you chose to be bothered by it, even when it was you who broke up with him. And, by the way, now you know how he felt last Spring when he saw you with Robby at the party”, she said, pointing at Sam with a half-eaten bread stick.

“It’s completely different! That was an accident, _he_ did it on purpose.”

Aisha just shrugged. “I promised myself I’d be neutral in this. You’re both my friends, and I’m not losing any of you by taking sides.”

Huffing again, Sam let herself fall on a pillow between Aisha and Keiko. The Asian girl seemed completely immersed in the movie.

“You’re missing the best scene, the lightning is about to hit Doc Brown! This part is so funny… Hey, do you want some pizza? It’s pepperoni”, she said, pushing a plate towards Sam.

“Yeah. Thanks”, she answered, still a bit miffed. She couldn’t stay angry for too long, though, and soon she was laughing, gossiping and sharing junk food with the other girls.

After the movie ended, they had a short break; Aisha went to the kitchen to get ice cream and make more lemonade; Grace and Sophie went with her to help. Moon was out on the patio, exchanging goodnight messages and kissy emojis with Hawk, so Sam found herself alone with Keiko.

She also found that the new Cobra girl was staring at her, as if she wanted to say something.

“Is everything okay?” Sam asked.

“Can I ask you a question? It’s probably going to sound weird, but I don’t like beating around the bush. And you’re totally free not to answer, of course.”

“Ah… yeah, ask anything you want.”

“What do you make of this weird feud between our dojos? Am I the only one who finds it stupid and pointless?”

Sam frowned, always ready to defend the LaRusso honor. “It’s not weird. It started for a reason… and I agreed with Aisha that we wouldn’t talk about it today.”

“That’s the other thing I don’t get! Everybody is all hush-hush about it like it’s some horrible secret”, said Keiko, too curious to let the matter go. “I just wanted to hear a sincere opinion from… the other side, so to speak.”

“Okay, here’s your sincere opinion. Maybe nobody has told you yet, but your Sensei and his friends beat up my Dad several times.”

“That was, like, in the Middle Ages”, Keiko answered, raising an eyebrow. “And in any case it’s _their_ problem, not ours. We don’t live in a Shakespeare play, people don’t inherit grudges from their parents anymore.”

“Well, the things that happened at the tournament were just two months ago. What do you think of that?”

“I think Hawk acted like an idiot, and they were right to disqualify him”, said the other girl, with an eye on the patio door in case Moon came back and heard her talking trash about her boyfriend. “As for Miguel targeting Keene’s shoulder… girl, that happens in every sport, especially professional ones. Last year at a tournament in Cleveland I made the mistake of telling one of my friends in the changing room that my back was hurting. Someone must have overheard, because the tournament started… and guess what part of my anatomy all my opponents hit, once and again? If you have a weakness and people find out, of course they’re going to target it.”

“Well, that’s not the way we do things at Miyagi-Do”, Sam said, coldly.

Keiko smiled, shrugged and repositioned herself on the pillows. “I’m not saying our way is the only way. Look, it’s perfectly normal for you to defend your boyfriend, but–”

“Robby is not my boyfriend.”

“Really? Wow, there are contradicting stories about that too”, said Keiko in a low voice. “I keep hearing things about him: some people say he’s this perfect cute angel, and others swear he’s a jerk.”

“He’s not a jerk.”

“So you think he’s cute, then.”

“No! Well, I mean… not that way. Robby and I are just friends, that’s all”, said Sam, jutting her chin up.

“It’s okay”, said Keiko matter-of-factly. “Forget I asked. It’s not like we’re all going to hang out together a lot… I guess I’ll meet him on the next tournament and see for myself what he’s like.”

Sam opened her mouth to answer, but right in that moment the other three girls came back from the kitchen carrying several tubs of ice cream and a lemon pie.

“Dessert is served!” announced Grace, distributing spoons and plates among the others. “Where’s Moon? Still texting Hawk? Gosh, I wonder what they have to talk about... they saw each other two hours ago.”

“Get the movie ready, I’ll go get her”, said Aisha before going out with a determined expression.

Meanwhile, Sophie had found the DVD remote, and the screen showed the opening credits of St Elmo’s Fire. Sam reclined on her pillows, attacking her slice of lemon pie with appetite and enjoying the familiar music. Despite her earlier mistrust, she was starting to enjoy the company of the Cobra girls. They were easygoing and fun, and they seemed to genuinely like her too. She still wasn’t sure about Keiko... but that was because some of her insistent questions had hit a little too close to home.

_People don’t inherit grudges from their parents anymore._

Against her will, Sam was starting to think that the hostility between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do was, in the great order of things, utterly and completely stupid.

* * *

  
At around the same time Samantha arrived at the Robinson’s house in Encino for takeaway and a movie, Kate was heading to Johnny’s apartment, with a similar plan in mind. She saw Johnny’s car outside, with an empty space beside it, and parked hers there. Then she grabbed the two bags of Chinese food the she had left on the passenger seat. Probably too much food, she thought, but she wasn’t used to calculating for a man’s appetite, so it was better if there was enough for leftovers.

 _Maybe I should have cooked something instead_ , she wondered. Was home-made food too much for a second date? But then again, they hadn’t exactly played by the book on the first date…

Kate shook her head and rang the bell on Johnny’s apartment. It was too late to change her mind about the food now. Johnny opened the door, looking like his usual self in faded jeans and an old Def Leppard t-shirt. He beamed at her and went in for a kiss, but before their lips could meet the sound of another door opening made him jerk backwards.

“Buenas tardes!”

The cheerful voice belonged to a tiny Latina lady, about the same age of Kate’s mother. She appeared peeking behind the door of the apartment next to Johnny’s, and he seemed a little embarrassed to see her.

“Hi, Mrs. Diaz. Kate, this is Rosa Diaz… Miguel’s grandmother.”

“Mucho gusto, señora Diaz”, she said, shaking the lady’s hand.

“Oh, no! None of that, call me Rosa”, answered the woman. “Dónde aprendió español?”

“La esposa de mi hermano es cubana”, said Kate slowly, making sure to get the words right. “She speaks Spanish to my nephews all the time, I’ve learned a few things… but not much.”

“Nonsense, that was really good”, said Rosa. “Dear me, I was going out and I forgot why… Forget my own head one of these days. Well, if it’s important I’ll remember it later. Goodbye!”

With those words she went back into her own apartment, and Johnny rolled his eyes in disbelief.

“She couldn’t even invent a good excuse… Sorry about that.”

“Are you kidding? I bet she’s one of those people who doesn’t give a damn about what anybody thinks. She’s fantastic!”

“I guess you’re right. She gave me a hand cleaning my place the other day, so… yeah, she’s cool. And I don’t know why we’re still standing in the doorway… come in.”

He led Kate inside... and locked the door, in case Mrs. Diaz suddenly decided she had run out of salt in the middle of the evening and appeared again to ruin the mood.

Kate looked around. She had seen her share of cheaply built apartments during her first years after college, and this was a perfect example. But at least it was immaculately clean, despite the Spartan decoration.

“It’s not exactly a palace. Sorry”, Johnny said, aware that Kate was surveying the place.

“Oh, no! It’s very nice… I like the rug.”

“Ah… thanks. It’s new.”

Johnny let out a relieved sigh. The multicolored rug was the result of his recent trip to Target, along with a throw blanket for the couch, a vase with fake flowers and a couple other knicknacks. At least the place looked decent enough now.

Kate walked into the small kitchen area and left the food on the countertop.

“I got a little bit of everything... and lots of egg rolls for you”, she said, taking a multitude of little boxes out of the bags.

“Great. And I’ve got you that wine you like”, Johnny said, getting a bottle of chilled white wine from the fridge.

“Wonderful! We have everything we need.”

“Oh, no. We’re missing something.”

“Really? What did I forget?” asked Kate, worried again that she wasn’t doing this right.

“You didn’t forget anything… but I was about to do this when we were interrupted.” Johnny slid an arm around Kate’s waist and kissed her, trapping her body against the counter.

“I’m glad you’re here”, he said when the kiss broke. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me again tonight.”

“Why?”

“I think I put out to soon”, he said with a fake pout. “I shouldn’t have let you seduce one on the first date.”

“Oh, well… if you think your honor has been compromised, let’s crank it down a notch”, answered Kate, trying not to laugh. “We’ll stay on first base for a few dates, how does that sound?”

“Like a fucking nightmare”, said Johnny, finally breaking into a smirk and holding her close to him. “I’ve done nothing but think of you all day, roller girl.”

He captured her lips again, and this time it was Kate who pushed him away after a few seconds.

“The food will get cold”, she whispered against his lips. “Aren’t you hungry?”

He didn’t have time to answer; a rumbling sound from his stomach did it for him.

“I think that’s a yes”, he laughed. “Okay, let’s watch your movie. I want to see if that Tarantino guy is the genius that you promised.”

Kate took the Kill Bill DVD case out of her purse.

“The film has two parts, Volume 1 and Volume 2”, she announced. “We don’t have to watch them both tonight if you don’t feel like it… although I hope you’ll want to see it all because it’s really good.”

She gave the case to Johnny, who started a short battle against the DVD player (of course, he had never bothered to read the instructions) while Kate opened the wine and brought the food to the low table in the living room. Soon they were comfortably seated on the couch, with a box of spring rolls between them.

“Ready?” she asked.

Johnny draped his arm along Kate’s shoulders.

“Hit it.”

* * *

  
Meanwhile, in the apartment next door, an overexcited Miguel grabbed his phone and started texting with his usual uncanny speed.

_‘Aisha. DUDE.’_

_‘Excuse your mouth. In any case, it’s Dudette.’_

_‘We have confirmation. IT’S HAPPENING.’_

_‘Mig, I’m in the middle of a girls' night sleepover. Not the moment to be cryptic.’_

_‘My Yaya just saw Rattler’s Mom go into Sensei’s apartment with two bags of Chinese food.’_

_‘Da fuq. Really?’_

_‘Yeah! Tell the others!’_

_‘I can’t now! Sam is here. I promised her no talking about Cobra Kai stuff tonight, we’re keeping it neutral.’_

_’Ok. I’ll text the guys.’_

_‘It says a lot about your social life that your biggest Saturday night event is gossiping about Sensei Lawrence.’_

_‘Remind me not to tell you anything ever again.’_

_‘As if you could resist it! And they say girls are chatty... I should invite you to our next sleepover.’_

_‘Ouch. See you Monday at the dojo.’_

_‘Bye, Mig.’_

* * *

  
A couple of hours later, the end credits of Kill Bill played on Johnny’s tv. Neither of them had  moved from the couch, and the only difference was that there was considerably less food on the table, and also less space between them.

“Well, what’s your verdict?” asked Kate, grabbing the remote to stop the DVD.

“That was so fucking badass”, he laughed. “We need to watch the other part, I want to know what happens next. By the way, Cottonmouth is a really cool nickname. And Copperhead.”

“Oh, no! Johnny, you can’t call the Cobra girls by the names of the Viper Squad.”

“Why not? Keiko doesn’t have a nickname yet.”

“Because it’s horribly inappropriate! Just don’t. Please. But I’m really glad you liked it… I knew I’d get you hooked.”

“Oh, you got me hooked alright”, he said, suddenly serious, giving Kate a look that made her blush.

“I… I should put the rest of the food in the fridge. I didn’t bring any dessert, sorry.”

“We’ll think of something”, he whispered, sliding a hand up Kate’s t-shirt and bringing her closer. He pressed his lips to hers deliberately slowly, waiting for the moment when her breath would hitch in her throat. Then he continued leaving a trail of kisses down the side of her neck, a like of fleeting touches on her skin.

When he was about to reach her shoulder, Kate felt him stop. He remained there for a moment, and Kate heard him take a deep breath and exhale very slowly. Then he finally moved, and she saw two piercing blue eyes staring at her.

“Is there anything wrong?”

“No”, he said hurriedly. “It’s just…”

There was another short pause, and she just knew. It was weird how she could interpret his silences after so short a time.

“You want to ask me something, right? You have that look again…” she said, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. “And you’re worried I won’t like the question.”

“I just want to know more about you”, he whispered. “But if it’s too soon, or too much…”

“Well, the worst thing that can happen is that I may not have an answer for you. Or that I will have one, but you won’t like it… Come on, shoot.”

Another deep breath, another pleading stare.

“Were you with anyone… you know, back in San Francisco?”

“Oh.” She looked at him, suddenly serious. “Is this the moment when we tell each other our dating history?”

“If you want”, said Johnny, trying to make it sound as if it didn’t matter too much.

 _He_ wanted it. Kate could see all the nagging questions in his eyes, as clear as if he’d asked them out loud. She wondered how much he would want to know… and how stuck in the eighties he would be in sexual matters. Surely he didn't expect her to be an almost virgin at her age, right?

“This used to be a very short conversation when I was in college; now, it's going to take a while. Not because it’s a three digit number or anything!”, she clarified, noticing Johnny’s alarmed look. “It’s just that sometimes things are… complicated.”

“Yeah. I get it. Look, I don't want to interrogate you, okay? I just…”

“It's fine, Johnny. I don't mind talking about things.”

She poured herself another glass of wine, and reclined on the couch next to him.

“I’m guessing you only want to know about the serious ones, the ones who mattered, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, in that case… there’s only one. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing… you can form your own opinion about it.”

Johnny nodded and laced his fingers with hers.

“His name was Simon”, she started. “We met at a common friend’s party when I had just passed my bar exam, and we started dating shortly after. He was a lawyer, too… a brilliant one. They made him a partner at his firm after just one year. He was one of those bright young things that everybody says will go far in life: the kind of man that ends up running for governor, or congressman.”

Johnny nodded again, biting his lip to avoid interrupting her. He was starting to regret his question, because that Simon guy sounded too good to be true.

“I won’t get into too many details, but… we were together for eight years, and lived together for the last five.”

“Did you get married?” Johnny couldn’t help asking.

“No.”

The curt answer surprised him, and he waited for Kate to speak again.

“Like I said... after eight years, everybody expected us to marry, of course. And we were already making wedding plans and everything… we were even trying to get pregnant. But after a year of trying nothing happened, so I went to the doctor to see if there was anything wrong.”

She put her empty glass on the table and pushed it towards Johnny, who refilled it without saying a word.

“Nobody ever expects the bad news”, she continued, in a voice that was little more than a whisper. “Nobody expects to hear that _yes, we’re afraid there is a problem_ , and _yes, it’s your fault, Miss Williams, we are so very sorry._ Nobody wants to hear that there’s no solution to this particular problem.”

There was another long and uncomfortable silence. Johnny squeezed Kate’s hand; this wasn’t the story he was expecting, and now he had absolutely no idea what to say.

“Unfortunately for me, Simon’s idea of going far in life involved a certain plan, and that plan involved having children. And he was completely against the idea of adopting, or using a surrogate, so… things kind of went downhill from there.”

“He dumped you?” asked Johnny, clenching his fist.

“So fast that he almost gave me whiplash”, answered Kate with a bitter laugh. “Shortly after that I moved to another law firm, I couldn't bear to see him at the office. I forbid myself to get depressed, I hid in my work. Then, a year or so after the breakup, after doing a lot of thinking, I decided that there was more than one way of becoming a mother, and I started with the adoption process… the process that ended with me getting Rani. The rest, you already know.”

She let out a long sigh and looked at Johnny, waiting to see his reaction. His fist was still clenched, and his eyes had hardened.

“What happened to the jerk?” he asked, and Kate couldn’t help smiling.

“The jerk married his secretary six months after our breakup. We lawyers love to gossip, so it wasn’t hard to get news about him, whether I wanted to hear them or not. They had four children in five years, which I guess is what he always wanted.”

“I’m surprised nobody gave him a good beating for leaving you like that”, Johnny growled. He had feared Kate would cry, but her eyes remained stubbornly dry.

“Breaking up with someone is not a crime. And he got his comeuppance in the end, I guess.”

“How?”

“Simon’s wife had quit working after having her third child, so of course he got a new secretary… and he managed to get _her_ pregnant, too. In fact, he had such good aim that both his wife and his secretary gave birth on the same week. Eventually his wife found out, of course... And now Mr. Fertile is divorced and paying alimony for five kids. His father-in-law was the owner of a local newspaper, and he made sure the scandal got out and hurt him bad. Let's just say he won’t be running for congressman anytime soon.”

“Served him right.”

“The traumatic part ends here.” Kate stretched on the couch and stared closely at Johnny. “I went out with a couple of guys after Simon, but none of them lasted more than a few dates, because I already had Rani and it was complicated. I guess you’re regretting asking so many questions now.”

“No way. I said it before, I want to know everything about you. I don’t have to like every answer, but I’m glad you told me.”

Kate raised a hand to touch his face, and raked her fingers through his hair.

“Thank you for listening”, she said, giving him a peck on the lips. “But you know what comes after one of your nosy questions, right? _Quid pro quo..._ I showed you mine, now you have to show me yours.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. You already know about Robby, but I never told you about the kid’s mother. And the whole story with his mother is… well, it’s a mess.”

Another glass of wine for her, another bottle of Coors for him, and the mess untangled itself slowly, sentence after sentence, with a few awkward pauses and a lot of curse words. By the end of the monologue (Kate had managed to avoid interrupting him, not even once), Johnny felt so exhausted that he had to rest his head on her shoulder.

“What do you think of me now?” he muttered.

“I think that you’ve made some mistakes… and also that you’ve had a lot of bad luck”, she said. “But I didn’t hear anything that made me want to jump up and run out that door, if that’s what worries you.”

He squeezed her hand again. “You’re amazing.”

“Nah, that’s just what I’ve tricked you into believing”, she said with a snicker. “Deep down I’m perfectly ordinary.”

“Bullshit.”

“Okay, okay, we’re not going to argue about how awesome I am”, she laughed. “Do you want to see the other part of the movie now? It’s not too late.”

“Sure. You’re staying the night, aren’t you?”

“Only if you promise me a repeat of yesterday’s show”, she purred.

“No way. Yesterday we were only warming up”, said Johnny with a wicked grin. “Tonight you’re in my territory, and I’m gonna show you what’s good.”

He had his hands up Kate’s shirt again; rough fingers against soft, warm skin.

Kate put her arms around him and laughed.

“I can’t wait.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I left the story of Johnny and Shannon intentionally vague here. The Cobra Kai writers are keeping it from us, so until they tell us I think it's best to leave it that way.  
> Mr. Hurwitz, if you're reading this, two things: 1. We need to know what really happened between those Shannon and Johnny; and 2. I have no idea why you're reading CK fanfiction, but feel free to use any of my OCs on the series ;)


	18. Kin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robby finds himself in an unexpected situation, and Daniel offers his help. Johnny gets two letters, one with better news than the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I even need to tell you that this is a long chapter? As if you didn't know me...

CHAPTER 18. KIN

_Tuesday, July 24th_

Daniel turned the page on the calendar absentmindedly and kept reviewing income projections on his laptop. He had a calendar on his phone, of course, and another one on his computer, but… there was something realer, more solid, in the physical act of turning a new page every morning. It made him feel as if _he_ was the one making time pass, and not the other way around.

It had been a very good morning so far. He still was feeling the high he’d experimented when he took his four students to train at the lake. Four students already… with the promise of several more really soon. He started humming a popular song under his breath.

In the office next to his, separated only by a glass wall, Amanda looked at her husband and smiled. She loved seeing him in a good mood; an entirely different man from the cranky, malcontent Daniel of the year before. Then she looked through the other glass wall, the one that led to the shop floor… and she found herself staring at a much less happy face. Robby was talking to someone on the phone; she couldn’t hear anything from where she was, but judging from his expression, and the way his hands moved, it was clear the conversation was more of an argument.

The boy hanged up the phone and turned around before Amanda could look away… and she knew he had caught her in the act, so she stood up and walked out of her office.

“Robby, is everything all right? If you’re not feeling well, you can take your lunch break early today.”

“It’s nothing, Mrs. LaRusso”, he answered, looking a little embarrassed. “I was just talking to my Mom, and she–”

“Something wrong, Robby?” asked another voice behind him. It was Daniel, who naturally had seen the kid too and was wondering what could have upset him so much.

Robby let out a sarcastic laugh.

“So this is why I was so bad at poker in high school”, he said. “I guess everybody can read my face like an open book.”

“What were you doing playing poker in high school?” asked Daniel, but Amanda lifted a hand to bid him silence.

“That’s not important now, honey. Robby, if there’s anything we can help you with, you only have to ask.”

She motioned for the boy to go into her office; he obeyed and sat at her desk, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“My Mom has this new boyfriend”, he started in a hesitant voice. “He doesn’t look like too much of a jerk, for once… I mean, he seems nice”, he corrected himself.

Daniel nodded and smiled. He knew how the boy felt, of course. Lucille had had a boyfriend in New Jersey, before they moved to the Valley; he had been a very nice and decent man… but of course teenage Daniel had hated his guts anyway.

“So, turns out that this guy has some money”, continued Robby. “He’s got a ranch in Texas, with horses and everything, and he’s invited my Mom to spend two weeks there.”

“Did he invite you too?” asked Amanda, cautiously.

“Yeah. But I told my Mom that I’m not going to cross the country to stay at that dude’s house doing nothing for two weeks while they’re all lovey-dovey with each other. I have work and training to do, I’m staying here.”

Daniel practically jumped from his chair.

“Alone? For two weeks?”

Robby shrugged. “It’s not the first time she goes away for the weekend… I can fend for myself. But today she got all spiky because ‘we need to make a good impression on Harvey’… I don’t give a damn about Harvey and his two hundred acres of ranch. I have work to do here.”

At this point, Daniel looked absolutely horrified.

“Robby… whether or not you go to Texas is between your mother and you”, he said, very serious. “But staying on your own for weeks is out of the question. I want you to stay home with us until she returns.”

Amanda raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t say anything. Robby lifted his eyes towards Daniel. They were so wide open that he reminded Amanda of a puppy, even more than usual.

“Really? But… Mr. LaRusso, you don’t have to…”

“Robby, you’re a minor, for goodness sake!” interrupted Daniel. “I would never leave Sam alone at home, not even for one night, and I’m not going to leave _you_. You’re coming home with us and that’s final, we have a perfectly good guest room that’s been gathering dust for a while. Just let me call your mother and tell her–”

“Please, don’t! I will deal with her, I promise.”

“Again, this is a serious matter. Definitely something I need to talk through with an adult. Please, Robby… I have to speak to your mother.”

Robby raked a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth to protest again, but deep down the boy knew he would end up doing what Daniel asked.

“Fine”, he muttered, grabbing a post-it note from Amanda’s desk and scribbling something on it. “Here’s her number.”

“Thank you. I know you consider yourself an adult already... but this is for your own good.”

Daniel dialed the number and started pacing up and down the office, like he always did when he was on the phone.

“Hello? Am I talking to Ms. Keene? So sorry to bother you… This is Daniel LaRusso, I am your son’s boss…”

Amanda heard a woman’s voice on the other side of the like, but she couldn’t make out the words.

“So nice to talk to you too”, Daniel continued. “No, no trouble at all! I can’t tell you how happy we are that Robby is working with us… a model employee, if I ever saw one…”

He kept walking around the room, this time at a slower pace.

“Anyway, the real reason I’m calling you today… eh… yes, I’m in my office. Thank you, you have a very nice voice too, Ms. Keene. As I was saying… Oh, of course, _Shannon_. Please, call me Daniel.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Amanda mouthing something at him.

“Put her on speaker, honey!” she whispered.

Daniel shook his head. Suddenly, he stopped pacing, with a puzzled expression on his face. Then, without another word, he walked into his own office and closed the door.

“Aww, shucks, I wanted to say hi”, observed Amanda. “Anyway, I’m sure he’s taking care of everything. Robby, why don’t you take a little break? We’ll speak again when Daniel has finished talking to your Mom, okay?”

“Thank you Mrs. LaRusso”, said the boy, throwing a worried glance at Daniel through the glass wall. He was still on the phone, facing the window, so the only thing Robby could see of him was his back.

After the boy left, Amanda went back to work for a few minutes, until Daniel appeared through the door again, still holding his phone and with a very, very long face.

“Oh, baby… Let me guess. Robby’s Mom wasn’t happy with the idea?”

“She was delighted”, answered Daniel in a downcast tone.

“Well, what did she say? And why do you look like you’ve been sucking on a lemon?”

“Ah… she’s okay with Robby staying with us, but…”

“Yes? Any problems?”

“No. But I’m quite sure that woman had been drinking.”

“That’s unlikely, Daniel. It’s barely past noon.”

“I’m telling you, her voice was… well, for lack of a better word, it was slurry. And I also had the impression that she was trying to flirt with me.” He sat behind his desk and rested his chin on his hand. “Am I going mad, Amanda? Is this one of those midlife crisis where I suddenly think every woman is crazy for me and I become a dirty old man?”

Amanda laughed and went to sit beside her husband.

“I don’t think midlife crises manifest like that, honey. I’m sure she was just trying to be nice!”

“Maybe… but, if she’s always like that, I’m starting to suspect that Johnny is not the source of all of Robby’s behavioral problems.”

“Is my husband admitting that his mortal enemy is not a hundred per cent wrong about something? Heavens! Let me get my phone, I need to record that statement.”

“Please don’t laugh, my love. This is serious. I’m surprised Robby didn’t turn out even worse with parents like those. And the worst part is, all this time I’ve been thinking…”

“Thinking what?”

“Nothing. I just have a tendency to think that all single mothers are like mine was.”

Amanda flashed him an understanding smile. “Your mother dedicated her whole life to you. She’s a force of Nature, Daniel… I doubt there are more than a dozen like her in the whole planet.”

Daniel let out a deep sigh. As if on cue, Robby appeared in the office again. The boy looked seriously concerned… and, now he had talked to his mother, Daniel began to suspect why.

“Everything okay, Mr. LaRusso?”

“Yes, Robby”, answered Daniel with a forced smile. “Your Mom agrees that the best thing for you is to stay with us while she’s away. It’s all settled, you can move in tomorrow if you want.”

Robby’s relieved smile lightened up the room.

“However”, continued Daniel, “there’s someone else who needs to be informed if you’re going to be away from home for a couple of weeks.”

The sunny smile disappeared.

“Of course. My Dad.”

“He has a right to know. Imagine if he went to your mother’s house one day and found it empty… it’s not fair. And it’s a call I won’t enjoy making, but someone has to do it”, Daniel said, whipping up his phone again.

Before he could dial Johnny’s number, Robby stopped him putting a hand on his arm.

“Wait, Mr. LaRusso. I’ll talk to him. Not on the phone, he… like you said, he has a right to know, and it’s better if I tell him in person. I haven’t seen him for weeks, but I texted him the other day and promised I’d drop by his place. Now I have a good excuse to do it.”

“Are you sure? If he’s going to give you a hard time…”

“Nah, he doesn’t do that anymore, we’re more or less cool. But it’s not fair he doesn’t know where I am. And if anybody has to tell him, it should be me.”

Daniel and Amanda looked at each other, and at least Amanda spoke.

“That’s a very mature thing to say, Robby.”

“Thanks”, said the boy with a melancholic smile. “Well, I think my break has lasted too much already… I’m going to work on that inventory, it needs to be finished this afternoon.”

After Robby left, Amanda kept staring at the door. Daniel, in turn, observed his wife.

“I know what you’re thinking, babe”, he said. “That boy is sad.”

“Too sad”, she answered. “I think he needs a girlfriend… Pity that he won’t be going back to school. Where is he going to meet girls now?”

A light went off in Daniel’s head, and his blood started thumping in his ears. Inviting Robby to stay with them had been one of his usually impulsive decisions... and he really hadn’t thought it through.

The reality of the situation was that Robby and Samantha were going to live under the same roof for weeks. His beautiful, trusting, beloved daughter was going to share a house –and a bathroom, among other things– with a hardworking, eager, sad-eyed boy who loved karate as much as her. A boy who also happened to be in dire need of a girlfriend.

Daniel hid his face in his hands and groaned. Like every time he made a reckless decision, he had realized the consequences...  only a minute too late.

* * *

  
Johnny had never considered himself a calm, cool guy. He knew he wore his emotions on his sleeve, and he couldn’t understand how some people walked through life with a permanent poker face, not letting anyone see what they were thinking. It had its downside, of course, being like that. Like in that precise moment of a bright and sunny Tuesday afternoon, for instance: he had just opened the dojo, some of the kids had arrived already… but Johnny’s humor wasn’t exactly bright. Or sunny.

He hadn’t seen Kate since Sunday morning, and he missed her. He had expected a visit on Monday, but instead it had been her brother who brought little Rattler to class. Johnny had thought of introducing himself, but he had been too self-conscious.

_What if she hasn’t told him about me? Hey, dude, you must be Hugh. Your sister mentioned you the other day… right before she and I did the dirty on my couch._

No, it was definitely not the right way to meet Kate’s family. And missing her so much wasn’t right either… It had always been like that with him. He felt too much, too soon. He couldn’t keep it under wraps, and it made him angry to be in such a vulnerable position. It made him feel weak, and he’d always hated that.

The laughter of a little girl, followed by the familiar sound of running feet coming through the door, made him snap out of his upsetting thoughts.

“Hi, Sensei! Hi, everybody!”

He barely had time to see Rattler before she disappeared into the girls’ changing room. Always running. That finally made him smile, and his grin widened when he realized Kate was at the door.

Johnny had to clench his fist to remind himself not to run to her and hold her, he couldn’t do that… at least not in front of his students. Diaz was there already, and Aisha, and some of the others… all of them suspiciously silent since they had seen Kate. In the end it was her who walked inside, with her heels clicking and her hips swaying in her blue dress.

“Hi! How was the training yesterday? I wanted to come, but I was swamped at the office again.”

She stood two feet away from him, a safe distance that wouldn’t have been so safe if they had been alone.

“Great. I mean… fine”, answered Johnny, fidgeting with the loose ends of his headband.

Suddenly he stopped stammering and squared his shoulders. This was _his_ dojo, and in front of him was (he hoped) his woman. And he refused to behave like a teenager just because things were still a secret between them.

_Man up, Lawrence._

“Diaz!” he barked. “Get your ass off that bench and start warming up your classmates until everybody arrives. We’re doing kicks today; tomorrow you’ll be in a world of pain if you don’t stretch those legs properly first.”

The boy, who had been whispering something in Keiko’s ear, stood to attention.

“Yes, Sensei!”

That was the behavior Johnny expected from his star student. He turned to Kate again, this time with a confident smile on his lips.

“Come to the office, I have to talk to you about something.”

Kate nodded and walked into the small room. Johnny followed her, leaving the door of the office ajar. That door was always kept open, and he didn’t want the kids to think anything was different. He sat at his usual place behind his desk, with Kate occupying the chair in front of him. All very professional, very detached. A Sensei casually having a chat with his student’s Mom.

“This sucks”, he said at last. “I haven’t seen you in two days and I can’t even kiss you now.”

“I’m sorry... I know it’s not exactly what you wanted.”

Kate slid her hand over the desk, until her fingers touched Johnny’s bare arm. Her touch made him seem less sulky, and he grasped her hand throwing a furtive look through the window.

“Going out with me is going to mean some serious time management, Johnny”, continued Kate. “I won’t be free every night. Not even every weekend. You’re lucky that Rani has a very active social life… next week she has a sleepover with her friend Millie, so I’ll be able to see you on Saturday night. We’ll just have to improvise, day by day.”

“I know, and it’s fine” he said, still a bit upset. “You have to put Rattler first.”

“I’m going to tell her about us one of these days, see how she reacts. But no displays of affection in front of her yet, okay? Or in front of the other Cobra kids… although I think the girls know, I saw them whispering in each other’s ears when I came in.”

“Of course they know, Miguel is as chatty as a girl, I’m sure he’s told everybody. And those girls are too clever for their own good”, he said, keeping an eye on the assortment of youngsters outside the office. “Can I at least kiss you here, where the kids can’t see us?”

“Here?” she asked in a surprised whisper. “What about that huge window that connects your office to the dojo?”

“There’s a blind spot if we close the door and stand behind it.”

That made Kate smile. “You have everything perfectly planned, don’t you?”

“I also have a gift for you. Come here.”

He stood up and pointed to the other side of the room, where a small filter coffee maker stood on a table next to the fridge.

“You got that for me?”

“Now you have a good excuse for coming here every time you bring Rattler to class. It’s not a fancy machine like the one in your apartment, but it makes decent coffee.” He poured two mugs (with the yellow and red Cobra Kai snake on them, Kate observed) and passed one of them to her, along with the sugar bowl. “There’s no beer in the fridge anymore, so I need something to drink instead. Diaz told me he got in trouble at a party for being drunk, and I don’t want the others getting ideas. Kids today can’t hold their drink like we could at her age.”

Kate took a sip of her coffee and hummed her appreciation.

“Mmmm, this is so good. And yes, I think the ‘no beer in front of the kids’ thing is a good idea.”

She didn’t push the matter further; she was glad Johnny was drinking less than when she’d met him for the first time... but she didn’t want to be one of those annoying girlfriends.

There was something else in the office she hadn’t noticed before, a set of pictures on the wall. Old pictures in black and white, carefully arranged in thin black frames.

“Are these your friends? My God, you all look so young!”

“That’s me with the original Cobra Kai. I thought they deserved a place at the dojo.”

Kate stopped before a picture that showed the five boys in their competition attire, smiling and posing together.

“That’s a cute bunch of boys”, she observed. “Which is which?”

“Jimmy is the one on the right. The next one is Bobby, my best friend. And then Dutch and Tommy. And me, of course.”

“You all look very fierce in black. I had never seen a black karate gi before coming here.”

“Our Sensei had them made for us that way. Back then almost everybody else wore white at tournaments, he wanted us to be different.”

“And you kept the tradition alive when you revived the dojo. I like that.”

She raised a hand to touch the corner of another picture. One depicting a teenage Johnny, in white gi pants and shirtless, executing a well aimed kick with the help of one of his friends.

“Oh, wow. You were seriously pretty in high school.”

“What, you don’t think I’m pretty now?” he asked with his trademark crooked grin.

“Now you’re… something else.”

“The word you’re looking for is hot as Hell.”

“More like arrogant as Hell”, she laughed. “I’m glad we didn’t go to high school together... you wouldn’t have given me the time of day.”

“I’m glad you didn’t know me back then. I was a bit of a jerk in high school.”

“A bit”, she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, let’s leave it at that. But the pictures are not what I wanted to show you today.” He opened a drawer of his desk, grabbed an envelope, and took out the letter that was inside. “This is from the All Valley Committee people. It arrived yesterday.”

Kate leaned against the desk and read the letter carefully.

“This is very good news, isn’t it?” she asked. “A meeting of all the dojos at the Lake Balboa park, where the kids can meet and make some new friends. It sounds like a great idea. Have you given them an answer yet?”

“I’m not sure Cobra Kai will go. I have to think about it.”

Kate frowned. “Well, if you’re asking for my opinion... I definitely think you should go. The letter says parents are welcome too; we can recruit a few of them, prepare some food... it could be fun. Cobra Kai is a new dojo, those kids have only seen their competitors on the mat; I think this is a perfect chance for them to meet other children who share an interest with them.”

Johnny rubbed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

“My gut tells me that this is another one of LaRusso’s tricks. I bet it was his idea, that’s why I don’t want to go. He has to be plotting something.”

“Come on… What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Every time I ask myself that question, the worst happens.”

For a moment he seemed miles away from there, and Kate knew he wasn’t exaggerating.

“Damn that window!” she said, stomping her foot on the floor. “Now I want to hug you and I can’t.”

“I told you, let’s get behind the door.”

Kate threw a careful glance outside, where Miguel and the other children were warming up. No one seemed to be looking at the office, so she stood with her back to the door, pushed it closed, and extended her arms towards Johnny. She didn’t have to wait long before he put his hands around her waist and kissed her. Softly at first, just a little peck on her lips… and then deeper, his body coming dangerously close to hers and pushing her against the door.

Johnny moaned into Kate’s mouth. Her hands were on his head  now, massaging his scalp, and the caress was making him feel things below the belt. Almost as an involuntary reflex, one of his hands went to Kate’s thigh, and she gasped.

“Watch those hands, mister… you’re being all sexy in that black gi, and I’m not made of stone”, she said, brushing her hand over his chest.

“Good”, he whispered against her lips.

Her eyes traveled downward, stopping at the front of his black pants.

“Be careful, Johnny. That gi will do nothing to hide the evidence if you’re... happy to see me.”

That made him laugh, and he stepped back an inch.

“I’m always happy to see you… and if I didn’t have a class to teach right now I’d show you how much. But I’ll behave if you promise to visit again tomorrow.”

“You have coffee in the dojo now”, she joked. “You couldn’t keep me away even if you tried.”

“I knew my lure would trap you.”

An alarm came off on Johnny’s phone, and he pressed a button to stop it.

“Three minutes until the class starts, and there’s something else I want you to see.”

He searched again among the papers on his desk, and picked up another letter. An elegant cream colored envelope this time, with a crest on it that Kate didn’t recognize.

“What is it? Don’t tell me your landlord is giving you a hard time again, I’ll tell Kevin to lawyer up and kick his ass.”

“Nah, this is from West Valley High”, answered Johnny. “They’re organizing a class reunion next month.”

“Interesting. Is that good news or bad?”

“Mostly good”, he said, running his fingers over the paper. “I mean, LaRusso will be there flaunting his loads of money and his wonderful life, of course… but I hope to see a few old friends too. And I’m glad it’s happening now that I’m no longer a hopeless loser.”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that”, said Kate in a stern voice, leaving her coffee mug on the desk. “Anybody who calls you a loser will have words with your lawyer, who happens to be me.”

“I thought Kevin was my lawyer now”, Johnny laughed. “Anyway, I was thinking… I thought maybe…”

“I sense a question coming”, said Kate, trying to make things easier for him. “Come on, ask away.”

“Will you come with me? I mean, I know how much you hate school reunions…”

“That’s not entirely true. I hate _my own_ school reunions… but I have nothing against other people’s.”

“Will you, then?”

“Are you sure you want me there, Johnny?”

“You wanted to know what the other Cobras were like... Now you can find out.”

“I hope it’s not the same day as the excursion. Too much excitement for one Saturday.”

“No, this is the following week. What do you say?”

“The truth is, I’m really curious to meet the original Cobras”, she said, throwing another look at the pictures on the wall. “Do you know if they’re going to attend?”

“Bobby called me yesterday. He and Jimmy are going, with their missus. I’m not sure about the other two... but at least there will be some of us there to represent the old gang.”

There was something in his eyes when he talked about his old friends, something that made time go backwards and reminded Kate of the pretty and carefree boy in the framed pictures.

“In that case, it’s a definite yes. It will be an honor to go and meet your friends.”

He flashed her a wide smile.

“Great. I don’t want to appear at that reunion without my girl. Everybody will think I’ve invented you... Like that nerd in my high school class who couldn’t get laid and said he had a girlfriend who lived in Canada.”

Kate laughed and raised an eyebrow. “ _Your_ girl? I didn’t know you were calling me that now.”

“You don’t like it”, he said, pouting.

“No, of course I like it! It’s just… nobody has called me that in a long time. In fact, I think nobody has ever called me that, period.”

“What did your ex call you then? Babe? Sweetheart? Princess?”

“Princess? Ew, no! He just called me Kate.”

“What a jerk.”

Kate covered her mouth with her hand. She didn’t want the kids to hear her laughing out loud.

“Okay, mister, I really have to go now. Aisha is going to take Rani home today after class… since her parents got her that car, the poor girl has become everybody’s driver.” She searched for Johnny’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze, careful not to be seen. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“What, no kiss goodbye from my girl?”

She pointed towards the class in silence.

“Shit. First thing tomorrow I’m going to Home Depot to get some bricks and mortar and close that hole in the wall.”

“Johnny, no! You can’t close the window or do anything to the walls, it says so in your lease. And besides, if the children are gossipping now, imagine what they will say if they find the window gone. Come on, walk me out.”

They came out of the office to find the dojo already full of kids, all stretching and warming up under Miguel’s guidance. As they passed by the group a short giggle, followed by a shushing sound, came from the area where the girls stood.

Johnny didn’t even bother to say anything. It was clear that Miguel had been a blabbermouth and told the whole dojo, and he knew that once a rumor started there was no stopping it.

“Well”, he said when they got to the door. “Until tomorrow, Miss Williams.”

“See you tomorrow, Sensei Lawrence”, said Kate with a wink.

He watched her get into her car, and turned around just in time to see that the kids had already fallen in line. All the little punks had cheeky smiles on their faces… all of them except Rattler, of course, the only one of them who was completely in the dark.

“Y’all look very happy today. Are you ready for some kicks?” he bellowed.

“Yes, Sensei!” they answered at the same time, like a well trained choir.

Johnny remembered a similar group, many years before, when he had been the apparent leader in a dojo full of boisterous boys. The dojo had been somewhere else, and the kids were different back then… None of those ex-losers and nerds would have been allowed into the old Cobra Kai. Especially not the girls. But, despite the time and the distance, the essence of the group remained the same.

One thing was radically different, though. It was him, standing in Kreese’s place. Doubting himself every day, trying to avoid Kreese’s mistakes, dreading the moment when the man would appear again… if he ever did.

Luck had been on Johnny's side lately: with the rent thing, with Kate… even with Robby, who called him or texted at least once a week since the day of their last meeting at Taco Bell. It was possible things would stay that way. Maybe from then on he would have a normal life with a job he liked, a girlfriend, a son who talked to him every now and then, and even the promise of seeing some of his old friends soon.

If luck kept being on his side, maybe Kreese would never come back.

He blinked a few times to shake away the memory, straightened his back, and went back to teaching his class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for the 'Shannon hitting on Daniel' idea belongs to Jules1980, who started a discussion on tumblr about the matter. I chose to leave Shannon's end of the conversation unheard, so you can decide for yourself if she was flirting... or just a bit tipsy. 
> 
> I'm going to London next weekend, and that will interfere with my writing schedule, so chapter 19 will arrive a later than usual. Sorry in advance, I'll try to write fast!


	19. Confidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel has another one of his ideas, Sam is trusted with a secret, and Amanda wishes she hadn't quit smoking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter is centered on the Miyagi-Do people, the old generation and the new. Johnny and Kate will come back in the next one.

CHAPTER 19. CONFIDENCE

Samantha finished tying up her shoes, put her sweat-stained gi in her backpack, and looked at her disheveled hair in the mirror of the changing room.

It was horribly messy, like every day after training, even when she always tied it up in a ponytail before class. The session had been intense that afternoon, and she was looking forward to going to the Lakers game with her Dad. Amanda had to take Anthony to a dentist appointment, so Daniel had had the idea of making the game a father-daughter event. Even with their renewed bonding around karate, Daniel hadn’t forgotten how he and Sam had drifted apart the previous year... and Sam appreciated that he was making an extra effort to share his limited time with her. He was spreading himself very thin between work and the dojo.

Sam had asked her Dad if Robby could go with them; but the boy was moving into the LaRusso house the following day, and he had gone home early to pack his things. Sam thought it would have been fun to have Robby around. Even when she had a more or less civil relationship with the Cobra Kai girls, she felt like the odd one around when she hung out with them… As if the fact that they belonged to rival dojos was an invisible wall. Robby was a Miyagi-Do, and that slight difference in mentality meant that she felt closer to him. Almost like family.

She grabbed her purse and went to the main room of the dojo. Robby and Demetri had left already, and Shiro was at the door checking his phone. Then Daniel came out of the office. He was wearing his suit.. and that was odd, because he usually changed into more comfortable clothes before going home. But even more unusual was his concerned face.

“Dad, is everything okay?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, sweetie”, he answered. “Remember Alex, the new IT guy at the dealership?”

She recalled a mental image of a nerdy looking man with wire glasses.

“Of course! The one with the Einstein t-shirt.”

“He just called me to warn me of a malware security breach in our systems; he’s working to fix it right now. It may be nothing… I hope it’s nothing, because our entire customer database may have been compromised. And that’s serious.”

Daniel had barely stopped talking when his phone beeped several times with the text notification tone. He read the text, made a pause, and then shook his head.

“That was Alex again”, he sighed. “Not good news, I’m afraid. Sam, sweetheart… I have to go back to the dealership and give him a hand. Not that I know a lot about malware and computer viruses… but I want to be there to support him, and to think of a plan B if those data have really been stolen. I’m so sorry about the game…”

“It’s okay, Dad, I’ll go home and make dinner for Mom and Anthony when they get back from the dentist. We can go to the game another day.”

Suddenly Daniel’s face lightened up, as if he’d just had a brilliant idea.

“Wait a second! You don’t have to miss the game and ruin your evening… Shiro, would you like to go to a Lakers game?”

The boy raised his gaze from his phone.

“That sounds interesting, Sensei. My grandfather was a fan of the Cavaliers, I went with him to some games in Cleveland when I was little. But it’s been years… and I thought you and Sam were going together.”

“We were, but there’s been an emergency at work. You don’t mind, do you, Sam…? Again, I’m terribly sorry.”

Sam shrugged and smiled. She was feeling a bit disappointed, but at the same time she didn’t want his Dad to feel guilty.

“Dad, I already said it was okay! It’s a pity that Demetri has left already, we could have brought him with us… But I’m sure Shiro and I will have fun at the game anyway.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise”, said Daniel. “We’ll go wherever you want next time, even to that horrible kawaii café that you like so much.”

“Why do you hate the Neko Monster Café?” laughed Samantha. “It’s a really cute place! And it’s Japanese, you should like it.”

“I just can’t stand those Harajuku style places. Mr. Miyagi would have had an aneurysm with all the loud colors and the awful music”, he shuddered.

“I won’t make you go there, Dad, don’t worry.” She turned to the boy beside her. “Do we take your car or mine, Shiro?”

“Mine, if you want. I’ll take you home after the game… if that’s all right with you, Sensei.”

Daniel winced. He still wasn’t used to Shiro calling him that; and, on the other hand, he still hadn’t had the heart to tell his student. He didn’t have this problem with any of the others: Robby, formal as ever, always called him Mr. LaRusso. Demetri had opted for the semi-formal (and semi-lazy) ‘Mr. L.’; and Sam, obviously, called him Dad.

“Of course, I trust you’re a responsible driver. Leave your car here, Sam, you can take an Uber to the dojo tomorrow.”

“Perfect!” The girl hugged Daniel and grabbed her things. “Let’s go, Shiro, we don’t want to be late. See you at home, Dad!”

Daniel waved the pair goodbye. As soon as they had left, he took off his suit jacket, swinging it over his shoulder. He felt kind of optimistic… and, like every time he put one of his plans in motion, also a little guilty. He hated disappointing people, and especially Sam; but it was for a good cause, and she was going to have fun anyway.

He checked his phone one last time before turning off the lights of the dojo and locking the door. On the screen was the last message from the IT guy, with a time marker that indicated it had been sent ten minutes before.

_‘Crisis averted, boss. The malware has been neutralized, there hasn’t been any loss of data. I’m going to restart the servers one last time and lock up. See you tomorrow.’_

* * *

  
A few hours later, Sam and Shiro were at one of the restaurants in the Staples Center, laughing and talking in front of a giant basket of BBQ chicken wings.

“I can’t believe your sister did that!” laughed Sam; Shiro had just told ger her a story of his sister’s mischief when they were little kids. “I met her the other day at Aisha’s house. She looked very peaceful.”

“Peaceful? Keiko? You must have met the wrong person”, answered the boy. “She’s always been the wild one… One day, when she was in fourth grade, she almost set fire to the Science lab… but no, that’s one of the stories I'm not allowed to tell. Sorry.”

Sam gave Shiro an understanding smile. She also had a sibling with behavioral issues of his own.

“It’s fantastic that you and her are so close. I wish I could be like that with Anthony; I love him very much, but he can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.”

“Keiko and I are only a year apart”, said the boy. “That helps. And, as you may have noticed, I’m not the most extroverted person in the world… I’ve got just a handful of friends. And I can honestly say my sister is the best one.”

Sam got hold of another sticky chicken wing and observed the boy. It was true that he wasn’t very talkative… unless they were talking about karate, then he could go on for hours. But he usually kept to himself.

“It must have been hard for you to leave your friends behind. Do you miss them a lot? Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do if my parents suddenly decided to move to the other side of the country.”

“Well, I understand my parents’ decision, of course. They both got great job offers from Encino Medical; and we made the decision together, as a family. But yes, I miss the friends I left there… especially one of them.”

Samantha smiled. “I figured it had to be something like that. You were dating someone in Cleveland, right?”

“Yes. We broke up before I moved here… it wasn’t logical to keep a long distance relationship, especially when we would have separated next year anyway, to go to college. We had been together for just six months, but… well, it still hurts.”

Sam patted his hand with an understanding look.

“Of course. I’ve never dated anybody for six months… not even for two months. To me that would feel like a lifetime.”

“It did feel like that, like we had known each other forever. It was my first serious relationship.”

“I’m so sorry that you had to break up... What was her name?”

Shiro looked at Samantha and blinked twice. He took a sip of his soda in silence, and then flashed her a sad smile.

“Andrew.”

Sam covered her mouth with her hand. For a moment Shiro feared he had freaked her out, until he saw the girl’s shoulders shaking… with laughter.

“Oh, my God”, came the muffled sound of Sam’s voice. “This is wonderful! I’m not laughing at you, Shiro, I swear. But I just realized something, and it’s a bit funny.”

“Okay…”, said Shiro, a bit unsure about her reaction. “What is it that you just realized?”

“I think my Dad was trying to set me up with you. I think he exaggerated that text from the IT guy. Oh, how have I been so blind?” she exclaimed, wiping a tear of laughter off her cheek. “Poor Dad, he’s going to be so disappointed!”

At last Shiro understood the reason behind Sam’s merriment, and he relaxed a little.

“What I still don’t get is why you’re not angry at your father. Isn’t he intruding in your private life?”

“I can’t be angry because my love life has been my Dad’s personal nightmare for the last year. He just can’t help being nosy and trying to protect me from all the bad boys in the world… or the ones he _thinks_ are bad boys. I just assume that from time to time he’s going to pull some stunt, like he did today.”

“I’m really glad you think that. When your father asked me to come with you to the game, I was afraid you would be interested in me… and I didn’t know how to let you down without you being hurt.” The boy looked serious, even more serious than usual. “I need you to do me a big favor and keep this under wraps, Sam; I haven’t come out to my parents yet. They’re not going to take it well… they have a certain life plan for me, a plan that involves a wife and children in the future, and I know telling them now would make things at my house unbearable for me, and uncomfortable for my sister. I’m going to tell them next year, when I leave for college… but, for now, only my ex-boyfriend and my closest friend in Cleveland know. And Keiko, of course. I can’t hide anything from her.”

Shiro fixed his gaze on his plate again. Sam thought that was the longest speech she’d ever heard from him in the few weeks since his arrival to Miyagi-Do.

“I won’t tell a soul, I promise”, she said, putting a hand over her heart. “Thank you for trusting me, Shiro… I guess we all have our secrets when it comes to relationships. I also kept a little secret of my own last year.”

“Is this about your Cobra Kai boy ex-boyfriend?” he asked. “Robby told me about it the other day… but he didn’t exactly paint a pretty picture of him.”

“Well, Robby is not exactly impartial. He and Miguel hate each other to the death, and the tournament last May only made things worse.” She twisted a lock of her hair between her fingers. “You’ve trusted me, and it’s only fair that I trust you too now: I’ve been thinking of giving Miguel another chance. Aisha told me I should either do that or say a final goodbye to him, and… that’s when I realized, I can’t say goodbye. I know Mom and Dad will never accept him... and keeping it a secret is going to be hard. There are four million people in Los Angeles, but when it comes to gossip the Valley is like a village: Eventually my parents will find out, and my Dad will a nervous breakdown. He already was on the verge on it last year.”

Shiro nodded, and gave a quick squeeze to his friend’s hand.

“I know what you mean. As someone who is currently living a big lie, I don’t recommend that you do the same, Sam. It will take a toll on your peace of mind. Your parents look like reasonable people, and I’m sure they love you. Better pass a danger once than live always in fear.”

“Is that a Japanese proverb?”

“No, I just made it up”, laughed the boy. “And I’m not sure I’m qualified to give advice when I’m the one hiding the truth about myself… even if it’s only temporary.”

“You have your reasons”, said Samantha. “As for me… the meeting of the dojos at Lake Balboa is two weeks from now. I’ll make up my mind and talk to Miguel then… and face my parents, if we get back together. It will be an ugly talk, but this time I’ll be ready.”

“You have all my support, Sam. Seriously; if you need me, I will defend you as if you were my own sister.”

“That’s really sweet. I appreciate it a lot.”

A moment later, the server appeared with the check, and the two teenagers got out of the restaurant. It was a little late, but there was still a lot of people around the restaurants and shops; as they walked towards the exit, Sam put a hand on Shiro’s arm.

“Thanks again for listening, Shiro, and for trusting me with your secret. Last year I was lousy at choosing my friends, and I’m glad to be getting better in that aspect.”

“I am the one who should be thanking you. You and Sensei LaRusso have been so welcoming… I feel really at home when I’m in the dojo; and it’s been a very long time since the last time I felt like that.”

Sam gave her friend a radiant smile, followed by an affectionate hug. Shiro hugged her back, and then offered her his arm as they searched for the spot where he had parked his car.

“Well, that was an interesting little scene”, said a voice once Sam and Shiro had disappeared from sight.

The owner of the voice (who also happened to be the owner of a bright blue mohawk) stood outside a taco shop, right next door to the restaurant where the other two had just eaten. Next to him, his girlfriend looked confused and a bit concerned.

“I think we should have said hi... That was Keiko’s brother, she showed me a picture of him the other day. I forgot his name... something with an S, I think.”

The boy stared at the parking lot and frowned.  

“Moon, doll... your problem is that you’re too kind to people. That pair of goody-two-shoes were too busy with each other to notice us.”

“But I don’t understand! I was with Sam at Aisha’s house last Saturday, and she never mentioned that boy!”

Hawk turned towards the girl and ran his fingers through her long hair.

“Not everybody out there is like you, Moon. Girls like her don’t care about breaking hearts. First Miguel, then Keene… and now that poor idiot. I bet next week it will be another one. But hey, at least someone will see her for what she really is now.”

He whipped up his phone and searched for the picture he had just taken of Sam and Shiro, right when they were hugging each other. Then, despite Moon’s feeble protests, he typed a quick message, just nine words, attached the image to it, and hit the ‘send’ button.

_‘Surprise, surprise. Look who has a new special friend.’_

* * *

  
****At the LaRussos’ house, Amanda pressed ‘play’ on her favorite Spotify playlist and reclined on the couch with a glass of wine in her hand. The soothing notes of a cool jazz melody surrounded her, and she let out a happy sigh. The dentist appointment with Anthony had gone well; the boy had absolutely perfect teeth (maybe due to the way he constantly exercised them), and Amanda was glad he wouldn’t have to endure the fuss of wearing brackets.

She left her glass of wine on the table and closed her eyes. The music was starting to make her doze off, and she had time for a nap before Daniel and Samantha came back from the game…

Daniel saw his wife asleep on the couch and smiled. Amanda had been extra busy at the dealership since he had fired Louie, and him spending so much time at the dojo didn’t help. She really was a saint. He took his shoes off, carefully, and tiptoed into the living room; then he sat next to her, trying not to make any noise… But Amanda was a light sleeper; she started stirring and opened her eyes.

“Hello, Sleeping Beauty”, he said, kissing her on the lips.

“Hello, Prince Charming”, she answered in a groggy voice. Then she checked her watch and gasped. “I’ve only been asleep for ten minutes! The Prince Charming is early… shouldn’t you be watching the Lakers with Sam?”

Daniel reached for Amanda’s glass of wine and took a sip.

“She went to the game with Shiro.”

“That’s an interesting development”, observed Amanda, raising an eyebrow. “How exactly did that happen?”

“I’ll tell you in a moment… just let me go to the kitchen and get a glass of that Chianti”, he said, standing up and taking off his tie.

“And refill mine, I hope… you’re the one who’s just finished it.”

“Sure! I’ll be right back.”

He was back in less than a minute, bringing a tray with the two glasses, the bottle of wine, and a bowl of pretzel bites.

“I haven’t seen Anthony. Is he in his room?”

“No, he’s at a sleepover with his friend Calvin. School starts in less than a month, and I think it’s good that the kids are enjoying what’s left of the Summer”, answered Amanda, reaching for a pretzel bite. “But you were about to tell me why you’ve sacrificed your precious father-daughter evening with Sam, and sent her off to watch the game with a boy.”

“I hope you’re not worried about Shiro. He’s a very responsible boy, I trust him completely.”

“You’ve been wrong before, you know… but no, I’m not worried about him. I’m worried about the ideas in your head, babe. Please, go on.”

Amanda could have sworn she’d seen Daniel blush.

“Well, the thing is… there was an IT emergency at the dealership, something to do with malware. Alex called me while we were at the dojo.”

“That explains why you couldn’t go to the Lakers game… but not why you’re here and not at the office, fixing the problem”, said Amanda with an inquisitive look. She was kind of enjoying the questioning, especially because she knew Daniel was hiding something… he was definitely blushing now, and he looked guilty like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Ah… well… turns out…” he stopped to clear his throat and gather his wits. “The emergency turned out to be nothing in the end, but… but by then I had already invited Shiro to the game, and I didn’t want to disappoint the poor boy. That’s what happened.”

“Hmmm”, Amanda nodded, looking completely unconvinced.

“I swear it was exactly like that”, insisted Daniel.

“You know what they say, honey… _Qui s’excuse, s’accuse._ I know what you’re trying to do. And I know you have good intentions, but you need to stop.”

“There was a real emergency! That malware alert was serious, all our clients' data could have been endangered. And I didn’t want the tickets to go to waste.”

“How would you have felt when you were sixteen, if your mother had started making suggestions about possible girls you should date?”

“She did, actually! All the time.”

“Look, I know you’re still mad at that Cobra Kai boy... but if Sam and him are friends again there’s very little you can do. Pushing her towards Shiro won’t work if she’s not attracted to him.”

“That’s not what I was doing. They’ve gone to see a game... as friends. That’s all.”

Amanda stood up and put her hands on her hips.

“You know what’s the worst part? Not only I know what you’re doing, I even know _why_ you’re doing it. You think that if Sam doesn’t get another boyfriend soon she will turn to Robby, especially now he’s going to stay with us. And you love Robby… but Sam dating him would mean that you and Johnny would be sort of family. And just thinking of that sends your blood pressure off the charts.”

Daniel’s face spoke volumes, but he stubbornly refused to answer.

“So, by your twisted logic, that leaves Shiro as the only perfect possible boyfriend”, continued Amanda. “If this was an European medieval kingdom, and you were the king, you would be able to make those decisions for your daughter, but that’s not the case. And besides… honey, I’m not saying this because I think you’re obsessed, or anything... But there’s a small part of me that thinks you would give five years of your life for a Japanese son-in-law.”

_Touché._

Daniel sank in his seat and reached for the bottle of wine, with an expression of such despair that Amanda felt sorry for him.

“Now, babe, don’t sulk… What’s done is done, let’s just have a quiet evening and listen to some jazz together. We have the house for ourselves until Sam comes back… unless she elopes to Vegas with Shiro, of course”, she finished with a mischievous grin.

“That’s not funny.”

“Daniel, I’m not worried about her. In the end it’s her heart the one who will make her decisions… and, I hope, her brain. But you and me have nothing to say about her love life.”

The bottle of wine was now empty, and Amanda took it back to the kitchen. When she came back, there was a cream colored envelope in her hand.

“What’s that?” asked Daniel.

“A letter from West Valley High. I thought it would be that letter of recommendation for Sam that Counselor Blatt promised to send us... but this is only addressed to you, so I didn’t open it.”

She sat next to Daniel as he opened the letter and read it. Then he left it on the table and sighed.

“Bad news, honey?”

“No, not bad... just weird. After thirty-four years of not celebrating a reunion, suddenly my high school class is having one next month.”

“Oh! That’s… that’s very curious timing.” Amanda's smile disappeared from her face, and she put a hand on Daniel’s arm. “Look, you’re under no obligation to go. I know West Valley High is not exactly the place of your happiest memories.”

Daniel turned to look at his wife and forced himself to smile.

“I have both very good _and_ extremely bad memories of that year. It all went to extremes.” He examined the letter again, wondering if this was another of the cosmic jokes the Universe was playing at him lately. “But I won’t allow Johnny Lawrence and his old gang of Cobras to scare me from going to my own high school reunion. I have no wish to see any of them... but if I don’t go Johnny will take the chance to call me chicken in front of everybody, and flaunt the victory of his little thug at the tournament. We are going.”

“You don’t have to decide right away.”

Daniel folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. “It’s decided. I’ll email the reunion people tomorrow, telling them they can count on me. And on you, if you don’t mind coming.”

“How could I miss it? I’ll be happy to meet some of your former classmates.”

Despite her cheerful words, there was a note of concern in Amanda’s voice, a note she hoped Daniel hadn’t heard. Suddenly, she got up from the couch and turned off the music.

“I think I had too much wine on an empty stomach… I can sense a headache coming. I’m going to the garden for a minute, to see if the fresh air makes it go away.”

“But you only had one…” started Daniel, just in time to see his wife cross the garden doors. “Nevermind.”

He rested his forehead on his palm and tried not to worry. The last time he had set foot on his former high school had been the year before, at the Halloween party… a party with a very unpleasant flashback in the shape of a skeleton; he still wasn’t sure he hadn’t imagined it. And now, there was a possibility that the original people _inside_ the original skeleton suits would be back. He reminded himself that he was a successful man, with a wonderful family and a flourishing business, and that he had nothing to fear from the old Cobra Kai members… But somewhere inside Daniel the fifty year old man still lived Daniel the teenager, the one who had been repeatedly terrorized by Johnny and his friends, by Kreese, by Mike Barnes…

Remembering Barnes made Daniel shudder, but then he shook his head and took a deep breath. The past was dead and buried, he wasn’t that boy anymore. Besides, he had Amanda’s support… he could endure anything with her by his side, and she seemed genuinely happy to go to the reunion with him.

He reached for Amanda’s phone on the table, unlocked it, and turned the music on again.

* * *

  
Meanwhile, Amanda stood next to the pool; there was a cool evening breeze, but she was enjoying neither that nor the view of the city lights in the distance.

She rubbed her hands one against the other. Her fingers itched for a cigarette, something odd considering she had quit smoking eighteen years before, shortly after meeting Daniel.

How many couples in the world trusted each other so completely that they had permission to unlock each other’s cell phones? She heard cool jazz coming through the open window, a sign that Daniel had her phone. A perfectly normal thing to do, right? Normal and ordinary… like that day, a couple of weeks before, when her battery had died and she had grabbed Daniel’s phone to check the weather forecast while he was in the shower. But, as she unlocked it, the first thing she saw was not the weather app. It was Facebook.

To be more precise, a Facebook profile, with the picture of a beautiful blonde woman in it.

Amanda hadn’t meant to peek. Being jealous was not in her nature, not even in those occasions when a female customer came to the dealership and was ‘accidentally’ too friendly with her husband. She knew Daniel’s kind and easygoing nature made him very attractive… and she also had her share of admirers, men who thought that any woman working in a car shop was a silly bimbo looking for fun. She didn’t even pay attention to them, and in turn she knew Daniel was nothing but faithful.

But this one was different. This was somebody who should have been forgotten long ago... like an old wound that was closed and suddenly one day starts hurting again. Amanda had dropped Daniel’s phone on the bed, as if it burned her fingers, and when he came out of the shower she retreated to the kitchen to make coffee. Out of sight, out of mind. That had always been her attitude towards Dr. Mills-Schwarber. Oh, she knew Ali had been important in Daniel’s life... But she had been out of the picture for so long that she was only a distant memory to him. The one that got away.

And now there was a situation where she could come back from… Denver? Was that it? Amanda had been tempted to do a little Facebook search of her own, but she knew that kind of things always ended up being toxic.

What if Ali came back to the reunion? What if Daniel hadn’t exactly forgotten about her, like Amanda had believed for many years?

“What happens if the one that got away strikes back?”, she whispered to herself.

“Amanda? Babe, where are you?”

She turned around to see Daniel’s silhouette in the doorway, bathed in the yellow light that came from inside the house. He couldn’t see her in the dark... and she just stood there, frozen, until his worried expression made her react.

“I’m here”, she whispered.

“We really need to fix those lights, I can barely see anything out there!” He walked to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Are you okay? You’re going to freeze without a sweater.”

Amanda finally gathered her wits and smiled.

“Yes, fine. Let’s go inside, I just needed some air.”

“What do you want for dinner?”, asked Daniel once they got in the house again. “Oh, I know! I’ll make you bucatini all’amatriciana, like the first night you had dinner at my apartment. Remember?”

“Of course!” said Amanda. “I was so impressed to have found a man that could cook… That same night I texted my mother and told her I had met the boy I was going to marry.”

“That was a good premonition”, he said, kissing Amanda’s forehead. “Stay here and rest, I’ll come get you when dinner is ready.”

She nodded and returned to the couch. The letter from West Valley High was still on the coffee table, with Daniel’s phone on top of it. Amanda extended a hand, grabbed the phone and the letter, and put both things under an old magazine.

Out of sight, out of mind…

Or maybe not.


	20. Retrospect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robby visits his father and gives him the bad news. Kate learns something about Johnny's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more week, one more chapter. It's been almost five months since I started writing this story, and we're past the middle point already. I can't believe I've kept up with the schedule for so long!  
> I missed writing Kate and Johnny so much... it's always a lot of fun focusing on them. I really hope you all like the chapter.

CHAPTER 20. RETROSPECT

Robby rang the doorbell of Johnny’s apartment and stood there, shifting nervously from one foot to the other and trying not to make noise. That Diaz twerp lived next door to his Dad, and the last thing he wanted that day was another fight. Not that the idiot didn’t deserve it… but Robby needed a cool head for the conversation he was about to have. Fortunately for him, the apartment complex looked deserted. It was almost dinner time on a hot and stuffy Friday, and everything seemed to move in slow motion in the heated air.

There was an awkward moment (another one to add to the long list) when Johnny opened the door. Robby didn’t know if his Dad expected a hug or not, and judging by the look on his face Johnny had the same dilemma. In the end they solved it with a quick half-hug, each one putting one arm around the other. Not the best way to start the visit… but it wasn’t the worst either, considering their history.

“Hi, Dad. How’s everything?”

“Fine… yeah, good. Come in.”

Robby noticed a few changes in the apartment since the last time he had been there. Nothing extraordinary, just a few things… a new rug, a cabinet with his grandparents’ pictures on display, a suspicious absence of clutter. But he hadn’t visited his Dad in more than two years, so he didn’t really pay much attention to the changes in the decoration.

One more thing seemed a bit out of place: the oven was on, and Robby caught a whiff of melted cheese in the air.

“Are you actually cooking?”

“Just mac and cheese. You can stay for dinner if you want.”

Johnny’s voice sounded hopeful, and Robby felt a little bad for having to disappoint him.

“I can’t today… I’m going to the movies with my friends. But hey, that smells great... I can come to dinner another day if you make mac and cheese again. Maybe next week?”

He didn’t say that his ‘friends’ were actually Sam, Shiro and Demetri. Talking about Miyagi-Do in front of his Dad was not going to help with things. Especially not when he was about to give him bad news.

Johnny nodded. He hadn’t really expected Robby to stay. It was enough that he had called out of the blue and asked if he could drop by his place. The kid looked serious, almost worried. This wasn’t a social visit... there was something on his mind, probably something important. He checked his watch; Kate said she would be there at eight, and it was past seven thirty. If Robby stayed long enough it would be introduction time, for both his son and his girlfriend. That could be a problem… or maybe not. Kate was cool with kids, and Robby seemed to be less contrary than usual lately. Maybe it would be a good idea that they met.

He went to the fridge and grabbed two cans of soda, offering one to Robby.

“Thanks”, said the boy, dropping on the couch. “Christ, I’m so tired.”

“Is LaRusso overworking you at the car shop? Remind him that you’re still a minor, I’m sure there’s laws for that”, Johnny said, frowning.

“Chill, please”, groaned Robby. “I sell cars, Dad, it’s not a sweatshop. But it’s Friday, I’ve been working all week, and… last night I was up studying until two. Before you say anything, yes, that was a new experience for me. But I’m fine.”

“So, you’re serious with the GED thing, eh?” asked Johnny.

“Dead serious.”

“Great.”

He wanted to tell Robby that he was proud of him; proud that _his_ suggestion had made the boy keep studying… but none of them was used to that kind of talk, at least not with each other, so he tried a different approach.

“Your mother must be proud of seeing you study so much. And surprised.”

Robby rubbed his neck and shifted in his seat, nervous.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Dad. It has to do with Mom… but I need you to promise me one thing first.”

Johnny shrugged. He wasn’t too interested in anything regarding Shannon. “Yeah, fine. What is it?”

“That you’ll listen without freaking out until I’ve finished talking.”

“Can I freak out after that?”

“Sure, knock yourself out”, said the boy with a half-smile.

“I’ll do my best. Now, spill: what has she done this time?”

Robby leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees; he looked at Johnny, sighed, and started his tale.

“Mom has been going out with a guy for a couple of months. He’s... he’s okay, I guess. Name’s Harvey.”

Johnny chuckled. “Harvey? Really?”

“Come on, you promised”, warned Robby. “Anyway, last week he came to the apartment and told Mom he wanted to spend more time with her, so—”

Johnny’s hand gripped the armrest of the couch.

“Is that dude living with you?” he asked between gritted teeth. “If she’s using my money to maintain that jerk, I swear I’ll go there and—”

“Dad, stop!” Robby shouted. He covered his face with his hands and took a deep breath before returning to a normal volume. “Fuck, why are you always looking to start a fight? Please… just listen.”

He gave Johnny a hard stare and continued.

“No, he hasn’t moved in with us. This one has money, okay? He’s got a ranch in Texas… it actually exists, I looked it up on Google Earth.”

Johnny nodded in silence. He didn’t want to interrupt again, so he just reminded himself to ask Kate about that Google Earth stuff.

“Anyway, what I came here to tell you is that Mom has gone to Texas with Harvey for two weeks, and I’m staying at the LaRussos’ house while she’s away. I already moved in yesterday, so it’s a done deal, okay? Mr. LaRusso invited me, he called Mom, she agreed it was the best solution… and that’s all, _now_ you can flip out if you want.”

Robby had said the last few sentences at all speed, almost without breathing; he wanted to get over with the inevitable fight as soon as possible. He shut his eyes and waited, but all he could hear was silence.

When he opened his eyes again he felt terrible. Johnny had remained seated, without moving, just staring at him. His face was a mask of pain and disappointment. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded almost broken.

“You could have stayed with me.”

Robby felt tears welling in his eyes. “Dad, I… you know Mom would never have allowed it.”

“Yeah, no shit. She prefers that you spend two weeks living with strangers than with me.”

“They’re not strangers, Dad. He’s my boss, and...”

“Has he even met your mother?”

“Ah… not in person”, said Robby, a little ashamed.

Johnny looked at his son. The boy was on the verge of tears, and after not seeing him for more than a month the last thing he wanted was another fight. It wasn’t the kid’s fault that Shannon had been irresponsible one more time and left him alone. And, like Robby said… it was a done deal. Once more, he found himself in a situation where there was absolutely nothing he could do.

“Fine”, he said, trying not to sound as miserable as he was feeling. “At least you’re not on your own.”

“I could have managed by myself”, retorted Robby.

“Remind me again how old you are.”

Robby sighed and decided not to fight. His father had reacted too well to the news… he wasn’t happy, that was clear, but at least it looked like this time there would be no screaming match.

Johnny’s cell phone chimed several times with the sound of an incoming text, and Robby felt grateful for the distraction. Also a little shocked: he knew his Dad wasn’t good with with technology. To Johnny, phones were just for making calls… and that’s why it surprised Robby to see him stare at the screen and smile. Then he typed something, painfully slowly, on the tiny keys of his flip phone.

That wasn’t right. He always refused to text unless it was a life or death situation...

A light went off in Robby’s head. He suspected what that smile meant, but he had never seen it on his father’s face before.

“Dad… do you have a girlfriend?” he asked, secretly happy for the chance to change the topic.

Johnny lifted his eyes from his phone… and then looked away, as if he didn’t want Robby to read his expression.

“Your mother is not the only one allowed to meet other people”, he said, standing up and making his way into the kitchen. He crouched in front of the oven and stared at the half-baked tray of mac and cheese.

Robby smiled. It wasn’t like his Dad to answer with evasives, or to avoid talking about things. The clean apartment suddenly made sense. And the cooking. Was he actually trying to impress this woman, whoever she was? He remembered something Amanda had said during dinner the day before, something about his Dad and a lawyer she and Mr. LaRusso had met a few weeks before...  and he decided to fish for information a bit more.

“The apartment looks great, Dad.”

“Thanks.” Johnny remained in the kitchen; he was keeping his distance, Robby thought, a tactic he knew quite well because it was the same thing he did when his mother wanted to interrogate him about something.

“Mr. LaRusso told me about the trial, and how your lawyer fixed the rent thing”, Robby continued. “I’m glad things are going better for you and your dojo.”

“Even if we’re the enemy?”

“Cut it out, Dad. Cobra Kai may be the enemy... but you’re not.”

Johnny sighed. “Okay. But yeah, things have been great since the rent went back to normal. I was lucky to find a really good lawyer.”

There was that smile again… the same Robby had seen on his father’s face when he’d answered the text, and the boy definitely put two and two together.

“And when am I going to meet your girlf… I mean, your lawyer?” he asked with a knowing smile.

Johnny finally realized that Robby’s questions had a purpose. He let out a little laugh and returned to the living room area.

“She’s coming to dinner, so you could meet her in ten minutes if you wanted, smartass”, he answered, fully aware at last that he’d been found out. “But since you prefer going out with your buddies to dinner with your old man… you’ll see her two weeks from now, I guess, at the Lake Balboa thing.”

“I’m sure she’s great, Dad”, said the boy. He wasn’t entirely convinced, in fact he felt slightly suspicious about any woman crazy enough to date the walking disaster that was his father… but, if Robby’s short but intense experience with girls had taught him something, was that they were a hundred per cent unpredictable. And, if that crazy lawyer lady was making his Dad less grumpy and more reasonable, he would be the last one to complain.

At last, Robby checked the time on his phone and groaned. “Oh, shit. Dad, I really have to go, or I’ll be late.”

Johnny’s answer came several seconds later. He was mincing his words, trying not to say anything that would upset the boy and drive him away for weeks again.

“Fine. Have fun at the movies… and, if you were serious about next week, just call me and tell me when.”

The boy got up. “I will. Thanks, Dad.”

“Now, get out of here. I hope those friends you mentioned are not the two idiots I saw you with that day at your mother’s place.”

“Nah, I’m done with Trey and Cruz. They’re assholes.”

Johnny raised an eyebrow and stared at his son.

“Don’t tell LaRusso I said this, but working for him is making you smarter.”

The farewell hug was less awkward this time; Robby closed the door behind him and hurried towards the bus stop.

He didn’t see that the door of the apartment next to Johnny’s was ajar; and of course he didn’t notice a pair of inquisitive black eyes following his steps until he got out of sight.

“What are you doing, mijo?”

Miguel gasped, and pushed the door closed.

“Nothing, Yaya. I thought I heard a noise outside.”

Rosa looked at her grandson and put her hands on her hips.

“Are you sure you weren’t looking at the girls who just moved in to number four? Your Yaya was not born yesterday, Miggy.”

The boy smiled and nodded. That was a much better excuse than the lame one he’d just made up.

“Okay… yes, I was. Don’t tell Mom!”

“It’s normal that you’re looking at girls, mi amor”, said Rosa with a knowing smile. “But those three are in college… too old for you. Wait a few days until school starts, and you will have lots of girls your age to look at. Now that you are a karate champion, all the pretty girls in your class will want you to ask them out. Ya lo verás.”

“Right”, he said, faking a smile. Being a karate champion had done squat for his love life... and the fact that he was at home, alone, on a Friday night, didn’t give him much hope for the future.

He went to his room and fell on the bed, feeling profoundly depressed. One of the things he feared the most had already happened a few days before. Thanks to Hawk’s surveillance tactics, he knew that Sam was already with another guy; and not just a random idiot like Kyler, she was with Keiko’s brother. A boy who, according to Keiko, was rich, tall, handsome, fun… And a beast at karate, of course, who also trained at Miyagi-Do with Sam. To sum up, the quintessential perfect guy. Miguel couldn’t compete with him, that was a fact.

Now another one of his fears, that Sensei Lawrence reconciled with his jerk of a son, was apparently happening too. Avoiding Keene when he came to visit his father was only the smallest of his problems… What if he changed dojos and joined Cobra Kai? Things would get more than tense; but Sensei Lawrence would never ask Miguel to leave… or would he? After all, Keene was his flesh and blood, and Miguel was absolutely nobody.

He put on his headphones and selected a random playlist on Spotify; the familiar notes of an old Queen song blasted in his ears.

_We are the Champions._

How ironic. Miguel had started with nothing… and he had wanted nothing in the beginning, nothing but to get rid of Kyler and his gang. Then, in a few months, he’d gained friends, success, a girlfriend, and even a sort of father figure. And now, one by one, the things he had achieved were being taken from him. He’d paid his dues, learned from his mistakes, fought his way to victory… but he still didn’t feel like a winner. At all.

Miguel planted his face in the pillow and let out a silent scream of frustration. Maybe he was technically a champion, but he felt like the biggest loser in the Universe.

* * *

  
Kate squeezed Johnny’s hand, sighed, and lowered her eyes to her almost empty plate of mac and cheese.

He had just finished telling her about Robby’s visit, and how he was going to stay at the LaRussos’. Kate found it hard to believe that a mother could be so careless… and that Daniel LaRusso could be so irresponsible, driving the boy further away from his father. Sometimes the man seemed to be all good intentions and flashy salesman smiles… and then he did something devious like that, something that looked like part of a master plan designed to make Johnny unhappy.

But she couldn’t waste time being angry; there was nothing she could do to help, except try to cheer up Johnny a little… and wish that Robby’s mother returned soon from her trip.

“I’m sure she’ll be back before you think. A ranch in Texas sounds like a horribly boring vacation plan… at least to me”, she said, trying to put some humor into the situation. “From what you’ve told me, she’s not exactly a natural born farmer.”

“I doubt she’s ever seen a real cow in all her life”, said Johnny, finally with a little smile on his face. “She’ll probably arrive to the farm, smell the manure, and get on the first flight back to California.”

Kate got up to take the plates to the sink; then she approached the still sitting Johnny and hugged him from the back.

“Let’s go sit on the couch, I brought chocolate ice cream for dessert.”

Johnny moved to the couch with lazy steps and let himself fall on it, while Kate got the ice cream tub and two spoons (Johnny didn’t have any ice cream bowls, a mistake that she decided to correct as soon as possible). As she was putting everything on the coffee table, she caught sight of something on the other side of the room. Something that wasn’t there before.

On the cabinet where the picture of Johnny’s mother used to stand, there was also another one now, in an identical frame. A black and white picture of a young soldier. The photograph was old and battered, but the resemblance was definitely there: the same light eyes, the same cheeky little smirk on his face... he couldn’t have been more than twenty, at least that’s what he looked like. A boy too young to be in a war, a boy whose smile was belied by the handwritten motto on his helmet.

_War is Hell._

She touched the edge of the frame delicately.

“Is this…?”

“Private Robert W. Lawrence”, answered Johnny. “My father. They took that picture of him in Vietnam, a few weeks before he was killed in action. I had it in a drawer… but the other day I saw it and I thought they should be together.”

He had never talked about his father before, only about Sid (in extremely derogatory terms); but the details of the life and death of his birth father had been a secret until then. Kate observed the two pictures again… they surely had been a gorgeous young couple. She remembered she’d never seen any pictures of his mother as an old woman, not even as a mature one.

 _She died very young, too,_ thought Kate. _Another stroke of bad luck, and he’s had quite a few along the way._

She looked at the pictures one more time and then joined Johnny on the couch.

“Did you…?” she hesitated. “Did he get to meet you?”

“Yes”, he said with a sad smile. “When I was six months old he got some leave and came to Sacramento; my Mom was from there. He spent one month at home; then he went back to Vietnam, and… well, you know.”

“I’m sorry”, she said, caressing his cheek.

“It’s okay… I don’t really remember him. Only the things my mother told me.”

It was clear that Johnny didn’t want to talk about it; and Kate wasn’t going to press the issue, not when he was still upset from Robby’s visit. She opened the ice cream tub and offered it to him.

“Thanks.” He started eating without taking his eyes off her, as if he was struggling to say something. Then he finally spoke.

“I told Robby about you today.”

“Oh? How did he take the news?” she asked, cautious. Going out with someone who had a teenage son was a new experience for her.

“Really well. He wants to meet you… if you had arrived ten minutes earlier you would have met him, but he was in a hurry”, he said in a tired voice. “I’m surprised he didn’t drop the news on me on the phone. He usually doesn’t give a shit about seeing me.”

“Well, if Robby keeps his promise of visiting you more often, maybe you can change that. You've got a chance to spend some time with him, show him what you’re really like. You haven’t been a part of his life for too long… but that can change.”

“Always the eternal optimist”, observed Johnny.

He held one of her hands in his, turning it over as if he was going to read her palm. It looked small and delicate when he held it, with those red nails that he had liked so much since the first day.

“I wish you’d moved to the Valley before. I wish I had met you sooner”, he said all of a sudden.

Kate blinked; the comment caught her completely unawares. She didn’t usually mourn for lost time… but she could see where this was coming from, in a way.

“Sooner, like… last year?”

“Like five years ago.”

“Oh, Johnny… It wouldn’t have worked. Five years ago I had just adopted Rani, and it took a lot of adjustment, for her and for me. I had zero social life for many months, I wouldn’t have had time to get to know you properly.”

“Fine... ten years ago, then.”

“Ah… I was living with Simon. Sorry.”

“Shit, I had forgotten about that jerk. Fifteen years?”

“I had just started dating Simon. I was all starry-eyed back then and I wouldn’t have noticed you… and weren’t you with your ex by then? Robby must have been a baby.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I was trying to make things work with Shannon”, he sighed. “Let’s try a bigger jump. Where were you twenty years ago?”

“Senior year of college. I was kind of a bookworm that semester, I needed good grades to apply for Law School.”

Johnny opened his mouth to speak again, but Kate put a finger on his lips to stop him.

“Don’t say anything else! The next jump is twenty-five years, I was in high school. Illegal, _and_ I was a complete disaster back then. Believe me, you don’t want to know what I looked like at seventeen.”

Noticing he was downcast and silent again, she scooted closer to him and kissed him. He leaned into the kiss, putting his hands around her.

“Johnny, even if you had a magical time machine… I’ve always believed there’s no time like the present”, said Kate. “We met now because it was the right moment for us to meet. That’s all.”

“Every time you’re with me it’s like a weight is lifted from my back… Everything is so easy with you.”

“Are you calling me an easy woman, Mr. Lawrence?” she asked, winking at him.

“Easy, my ass”, he said with a grin. “I had to beg to make you have dinner with me. You’re ruthless, roller girl.”

“That’s funny. I remember you conspiring with my friend to get me alone, and cornering me up in my office... but I don’t recall any begging”, she laughed.

“And you think that was easy? I was scared shitless that day, I thought you were going to throw me out… I even had to wear that stupid suit to make you notice me.”

“I had already noticed you before. But the suit definitely helped.”

At this point the ice cream tub was empty and forgotten. Johnny grabbed Kate’s waist and moved her to his lap, enjoying the warmth of her skin beneath her thin shirt.

“The suit’s still in my closet… I can go change, if it’s going to help turning you on”, he whispered in her ear while he nuzzled the side of her neck.

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. This is not a situation that can be solved adding _more_ clothes… more like the other way around.”

“What, like this?” asked Johnny, taking off his t-shirt.

Kate took a deep breath and willed her heart to stop racing so fast. She still wasn’t used to him being so bold… but she definitely enjoyed it.

“Exactly like that.”

She ran her hands over his chest while he kissed her again and closed her eyes, feeling his hard muscles under her palms. Something else was getting hard, too… something she noticed pressing against her leg.

“I may be an easy woman… but I still prefer to be seduced in a bed, Johnny”, she whispered against his lips. “I don’t want to end up falling off your couch.”

“As if I would let you fall”, he answered, tightening his arms around her like a vice grip. “But yeah, the bed will be better for what I have in mind for you.”

They stumbled towards the bedroom, leaving a trail of discarded clothes behind them. As soon as they got there Johnny pulled back the duvet and pushed Kate on the bed. She remained there, propped up on her elbows, watching him take off the rest of his clothes as fast as he could.

“You really need to learn the difference between a karate mat and a bed”, she said in a breathy sigh. “Where are your manners?”

Now completely naked, he hovered over her.

“Haven’t you heard? Cobras have no manners.”

The light wasn’t on, but she still could see his blue eyes in the dark, shining with anticipation as he yanked off her jeans and her panties in one swift move. Then he was on her, his hands pawing at her skin, his mouth searching for hers like a starving man. Kate moaned, burying one hand in his hair and holding onto his shoulders with the other. His skin was so hot, hot like a furnace; she felt the muscles on his back ripple and tense as he made his way down from her mouth to her neck, her breasts… and then up again.

Kate felt the room spinning around her. It was only one week after their first date… just a week and he already read her body like an open book, knew exactly what buttons to press. And it was also true the other way around; Johnny was always so eager, almost to the point of being harsh, and by now Kate already knew what to do to make him mad with want. One little whisper in his ear, a fingernail raking down his back… and she got him panting like a caged beast, covering her body in kisses that became bites every now and then.

He stopped for a second to regain his breath, and Kate saw her chance: hoping to take him by surprise, she grabbed Johnny’s wrists and flipped on top of him, securing her legs around his waist.

“Hey! Is that a roller derby move?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

“Oh, no… I learned this one much later”, she answered, leaning to kiss him one more time.

“You could use that on a mat if you wanted.”

“Not for the kind of fight we’re having now.”

She slid a hand between their bodies and found him hard; when she started touching him his hips buckled.

“Fuck, yes”, he hissed.

He let his head fall on the pillow, groaning, enjoying every second, until the tension became too much; then he sat up, grabbing Kate by the back of the heck. There was a wanton smile on her lips; the little minx knew exactly what she was doing to him.

“Ride me”, he growled.

It could have been a plea, or an order. It didn’t really matter, because a moment later he was inside her, and she was moving her hips in a seemingly lazy rhythm, all without taking her eyes off him.

Johnny put his hands on her waist; he was almost hypnotized by the woman on top of him. She looked glorious with her dark hair falling down her back, her body moving to the beat of a song only she could hear, her lips repeating his name like a mantra. He needed to be closer, deeper still in her welcoming heat. With an effort he grasped her hips, bringing his mouth to her breasts, her neck… He was in charge of the pace now: faster, deeper, until her moans became breathy cries. She dug her nails into his shoulders, and the sharp sensation drove him close to the edge.

Johnny had lost all track of time; it could have been ten minutes on that bed, or ten years; to him, an eternity of being inside her wouldn’t be enough. He kept grinding his hips against her until her body shivered; the rising pleasure started with her and then surged through him, his release hitting him like a giant wave. Then he felt Kate’s forehead resting on his shoulder, and heard a soft laughter.

“Wow”, she whispered, breathless.

“Yeah.”

Johnny caressed her hair and planted a kiss on her temple; he held her close for a long moment, not letting her go until he felt goosebumps rising on her skin.

“Get under the sheets, you’re getting cold”, he commanded. Jumping out of bed he grabbed the first thing he saw in his closet... one of his Cobra Kai t-shirts, and offered it to Kate. She put it on quickly, got into the bed and waited for Johnny to join her.

“Congratulations. You’re officially a Cobra now”, he joked, running a fingertip over the red and yellow snake and holding Kate close to his chest.

“Oh, that’s better”, she said. “You’re so warm…”

“You mean hot?” he snickered.

She smiled and snuggled against him. “That, too. And modest.”

Kate didn’t speak much after that; she practically fell into a coma every time after sex, and Johnny was getting used to it. He took a deep breath, remembering what she’d said during their conversation.

_We met now because it was the right moment for us to meet._

“Yes, it was”, he muttered under his breath.

“Hmmm?”

“Nothing. Sleep, you must be tired.”

The only answer this time was Kate’s regular breathing; comatose again. Johnny smiled, kissed her forehead, tucked her head under his chin, and closed his eyes.

 


	21. Intuition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate has dinner with her best friend, who surprises her with good news. In Cobra Kai, the girls form a think tank and try to solve Miguel's problems, whether he wants it or not.

CHAPTER 21. INTUITION

“Hello, munchkin!”

“Hi, uncle Kevin!”

Rani hugged the tall Black man as if she hadn’t seen him in a very long time, longer than her eight years of age. Beside her, Kate beamed at her friend and handed him a bottle.

“You said white wine, so I brought Chablis. I hope Oliver will like it.”

“Wonderful! Chablis is one of his favorites”, said Kevin, kissing Kate’s cheek. “It will go perfectly with the shrimp tacos he’s making. He’s been in the kitchen for more than an hour… when that man is in chef mode there’s no stopping him.”

The two adults and the little girl went into the entrance hall of the house. It wasn’t exactly the biggest in Encino, but it was elegant and luminous. Kevin had decorated it himself, and he was really proud of his work.

“Come in, ladies. I’ve set the dinner table on the patio, it’s a very warm night. What do you think?”

“Sounds perfect”, answered Kate. “Rani, do you want to go to the kitchen and say hi to Oliver?”

The little girl ran towards the kitchen, reappearing a few moments later with Oliver in tow. He was wearing a long chef apron, and in his hands was a tray with three cocktails and a glass of juice.

“Who wants an Aperol Spritz? Every adult in the room, I hope… And, for the little lady, we have this lovely pomegranate juice. Do you like it?”

“I love it! Thank you, Oliver”, said Rani, grabbing the glass that the young man was offering her. “Mom, Oliver says dinner is almost ready. He made tacos, and guacamole!”

“It’s going to be delicious, I’m sure”, said Kate. “Hi, Oliver. I didn’t know you cooked… you’re a man of many talents.”

“How do you think I made the gorgeous Mr. McMichaels fall for me?”, said Oliver with a wink. “One day I made him butter poached lobster for dinner and he fell right at my feet… but hey, let’s not stand here. The table is already set; you two, go sit outside and chat while Rani and I go get the food, okay? And you, little miss, you said you wanted to be my assistant cook, so... let’s go.”

Soon, the four of them were sitting outside, enjoying a delicious al fresco dinner. After all the food (and most of the wine) had been consumed, Rani went to play on one corner of the patio, where Kevin had installed a basketball goal. The hoop was too high for her to score, but she kept trying tirelessly.

Seeing that the little girl was finally out of ear’s range, Kevin saw his chance to discuss some grown-up topics with Kate.

“So, how are things going with King Karate?” he asked, refilling her glass of wine. “You haven’t told me anything… and I’m choosing to interpret your silence as a good thing. You’re always quiet when all is well.”

Kate took a spoonful of the mango sorbet Oliver had made for dessert.

“It’s going really great, Kev. So well that I’m a little afraid.”

“Come on, Katey… don’t be such a pessimist”, Kevin laughed.

“I don’t want to be! But sometimes my mind goes to that place and I can’t help it. Johnny is the first man who has been there for me… _really_ there, in a long time. What happens if he suddenly decides that a relationship with me is too hard? How long until he starts resenting Rani because I pay too much attention to her?”

“I’m sure he knows how important your daughter is to you. Why would he resent her?”

“I don’t know”, said Kate with a sigh. “After Simon left, and especially after I got Rani, I kind of made peace with the idea that I’d probably remain single forever. I never thought I would have another chance, never thought I would want someone to be there, with me, all the time. Now I see the possibility of it… and it scares me.”

“It’s a relationship, girl. It has its scary parts, but that’s how it has to be.”

“The day I adopted Rani I promised myself that she would always be my priority”, she insisted, looking at the little girl who played a few yards away, oblivious to the conversation. “I swore I wouldn’t be one of those women who make their kid live with an awful stepfather just because they are blinded by love. I don’t want to betray that promise.”

Kevin’s face turned very serious. He held his friend’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I’ve been your best friend for almost twenty-five years, Kate. I know that’s never going to happen. Live a little, you’re worrying too much!”

“If you’ve learned anything about me in all those years, you also know worrying too much is my specialty.”

“Johnny is lucky to have you; and he’s perfectly aware of it.” Kevin took a deep breath, trying his best to reassure his friend. “He’s not Simon, darling… this one is not going to leave you.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.”

“What was Simon like?” asked Oliver, who had been silent until then because he didn’t know much about that part of Kate’s life.

“I thought he was Mr. Perfect, but—”

“But he turned out to be Mr. Completely Wrong, and as you can see he did a number on Kate’s self-esteem when it comes to men”, interrupted Kevin. “Please, let’s not talk about that poor excuse for a human being… this is supposed to be a fun evening.”

“I agree”, said his boyfriend. “More sorbet, Kate?”

“Oh, I can’t! You’ve made enough for an army, Oliver… everything was delicious. Now every time I come to Kevin’s home I’ll be expecting more of that.”

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

“Well, in that case we have some very good news for you”, Kevin said. “In the future, Oliver will be cooking at this house every day.”

“Every day? You mean…?”

“We’ve been living together since last week”, beamed Oliver, unable to contain his excitement. “I’ve already moved all my things from my old apartment… and, now that you know, it’s officially official.”

“Oh, my God.” Kate laughed. “That’s wonderful news! Congratulations!”

She got up and hugged both of them, just when Rani reappeared with the basketball under her arm.

“Mom, why is everybody hugging?” she asked, intrigued.

Kevin crouched beside the little girl. “We’re all very happy because Oliver has moved here, munchkin. This is his house now, too.”

Rani’s face lightened up, and she immediately went to grab Oliver’s hand.

“That means you’re my uncle now, right?” she asked.

The young man looked at Kevin, dumbfounded; then at Kate, and finally at Rani again.

“Yes, poppet”, he said in a shaky voice. “If you want, I’ll be your uncle.”

“Great!” Rani jumped at the news, hugging Oliver with all her strength. He hugged her back and blinked several times, unable to contain the tears.

“Rani, why don’t you go with uncle Oliver and throw some hoops while your Mom and I clear the table?” suggested Kevin.

“Okay!” The kid picked up the ball that she had left on the floor and ran towards the basketball goal, followed by a still emotional Oliver.

“I wish everybody was as open minded as your kid, Katey”, he said while he picked up the dirty dishes. “Didn’t you notice Oliver was about to cry? Practically none of his family members speak to him since he came out, except for his sister. Having Rani decide to call him ‘uncle’ all by herself must have been a shock.”

“It’s a cruel world. I’m doing my best to raise her right”, said Kate in a soft voice. “But look at you, finally a serious grown-up man with a fancy house and a live-in boyfriend! I always knew you would find the one sooner than me.”

“Keep being defeatist and I won’t let you be my maid of honor”, said Kevin with a flashy grin.

“Wait, what? Maid of honor? Is there going to be a wedding?”

“Shush! I don’t want Oliver to hear”, Kevin whispered. “Come, help me take all this inside, we can talk there.”

They took the dishes to the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher; Kate sat at the table while Kevin made coffee.

“Here you go, darling. Espresso with two sugars.”

“Thanks. And now, come here and explain the wedding thing, please”, said Kate.

Kevin went to sit beside her; he poured himself a cup of coffee and added a lot of cream to it. When he finally spoke, it was in a shouting whisper, like a spy in a movie.

“First of all, it’s still a secret, okay? I know it’s early, we’ve only been together for eight months; but I love Oliver, I’m not getting any younger… And, let’s face it, there’s a chance that the Supreme Court will abolish gay marriage again any day, so we better do it while we can.”

Kate let out a laugh. “That’s not going to happen! And remember: just because you can, it doesn’t mean you _should_.”

“I know what I’m doing, my friend. Like you said, he is The One. With a capital O.”

“In that case I’m really happy for you, Kev. When are you going to ask him?”

“In a couple of weeks, when Oliver is completely settled; I don’t want to overwhelm him. I’ll take him to his favorite Japanese restaurant for dinner, wait until dessert… and then pop the question. On one knee and all that.”

Kate looked at her friend and smiled. “That’s really sweet.”

“Oh, speaking of restaurants”, Kevin remembered suddenly. “Oliver wants to know if you and Johnny would want to come out to dinner with us.”

“What, like a double date?” asked Kate.

“Yes! It can be fun, and we’d really love to get to know him better… that is, if you think things are serious enough between you two.”

Kate took a sip of her coffee and rested her chin on her palm.

“It’s awfully early, but I do think we’re getting serious”, she said with a tentative smile. “He’s been to my place, I’ve been to his, we’re comfortable with each other, he wants me to meet his son... He even asked me to go with him to his high school reunion next month.”

Kevin smiled and punched the air.

“You’re going to be his plus one at a social event? Good for you, girl! Oh, that can be really fun. You’ll get to know some of his old friends, that’s always good. And he’ll feel like a winner… because, let’s admit it, those reunions are all about status, and you’re a real catch, Katie.”

He looked at Kate expecting her to laugh, or at least to respond with a witty comment, but she remained quiet, and with her gaze lost in the distance.

“Earth to Kate. My powers of deduction tell me that you’re worrying too much again… What is it?”

“Nothing”, she said with a wave of her hand. “Just another one of those times I overthink everything.”

“Come on, girl. Spill.”

“It’s about Johnny’s reunion. His ex-girlfriend may be there”, she said, frowning.

“His kid’s mother? So what? I thought you said they hated each other’s guts. There may be an unpleasant moment, but she’s the past and you’re the present.”

“No, not that one... His girlfriend from high school. The one who left him for Daniel LaRusso.”

“Girl, that was a million years ago! Why are you worrying about that?”

“She’s the one that got away, Kevin. He began acting like a jerk at school after she broke up with him, and I think he never really got over her. I can compete with real women in the real world... but not with someone whose memory has been distilled into a perfect ideal.”

“I doubt it will be that dramatic. Come on, he hasn’t seen her in… what? Thirty years?”

“Thirty-four.”

“You’re worried about a decades-old ghost. And ghosts are generally harmless.”

They heard cheerful voices coming from outside; Rani and Oliver returned to the house, laughing.

“Did you have a good time, sweetie?” asked Kate, brushing a sweaty strand of hair from her daughter’s brow.

“It was a lot of fun, Mom!” she said with a wide grin. “Oliver won, but it’s fine because I’m too short to play basketball. My thing is karate.”

“Of course it is. Now, why don’t you go wash your hands? Then you can choose a board game and we’ll all play together.”

Rani nodded and ran towards the bathroom.

“Did I just hear something about ghosts?” asked Oliver, sitting beside his boyfriend. “Are you two telling scary tales?”

“No, just silly tales”, Kevin clarified. “Kate is going with Johnny to his high school reunion, and she’s afraid that his ex-girlfriend will be there... the ex-girlfriend he hasn’t seen in thirty-four years.”

Kate elbowed her friend, a bit irritated. “Well, if you say it like that, of course it sounds silly.”

“Thirty-four years?” Oliver exclaimed. “Gosh, I was a baby back then.”

“You’re still a baby now, my love. The other day you cried when you got your finger caught in the window.”

“Oh, the shade!” he said with a fake whining sound.

“But I love you the way you are”, added Kevin with a chuckle. “Oh, and before that we were talking about the double date. Kate thinks Johnny will want to come.”

“Perfect!” said Oliver with enthusiasm. “We can go to that lovely Thai place in the Boulevard, or to the new food market… No, let’s do it here instead, and I’ll cook. It’s going to be so much fun!”

“Sounds wonderful. You know, Kate, the first time I saw Johnny I thought he looked like one of those super conservative, homophobic guys”, observed Kevin. “I’m glad I was wrong.”

“Well, to be fair, he did hate you at first sight… but that was just because he thought you and me were together.”

“He was jealous? That’s kind of cute”, said Oliver.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘cute’... but it hasn’t happened again, so it’s okay”, answered Kate. “He _is_ conservative, at least in some things; and very set in his ways… but what I like about him is that he’s open to change. And he’s got a couple of lesbian students in Cobra Kai, so definitely not homophobic.”

“Wow, look at Mr. Progressive!” Kevin raised his cup of coffee in an improvised toast. “Here’s to Sensei Lawrence and his unexpected but very welcome support of LGBT youth in sports.”

“It’s no joke, especially with those two girls. One of them was expelled from the Athletics team at school when she came out.”

“It was bad enough when we were their age… you’d expect the world would have changed by now”, said Kevin, making a face.

“I know… I said it before and I’ll repeat it a thousand times, the world is a cruel place”, observed Kate. “I’m glad Johnny doesn’t care about those things; as long as his students are interested in karate, he will accept absolutely everybody. That’s why he’s got a little army of perfectly loyal kids. Including Rani, of course... she worships him more every day.”

Kevin took the coffee pot and served another round for the three of them.

“Let her worship, Katey. Who knows, maybe someday she will end up calling him Dad.”

Kate raised her eyebrows, scandalized. “How can you joke about something so serious?”

Kevin looked at his friend intently. “It’s not a joke. I had a hunch about you two since the first day.”

Kate opened her mouth to reply, but in that moment Rani appeared in the kitchen again, with an oblong box in her hands.

“Mom, Uncle Kevin, can we play Dragonwood?”

“Of course, munchkin! Bring the game here, I’ll set the cards and everything.”

Kevin cleared the coffee utensils and started setting up the board for the game. He noticed Kate was looking at her daughter with a serious expression.

“Now you’re worried about what I just said”, he whispered in his friend’s ear. “I didn’t mean to scare you, and I’m sorry if I did.”

“It’s alright, Kevin. I just want the best for her… and if having no father at all is better than having a lousy stepfather, that’s how things will stay, no matter what.”

Kevin sighed.

“Very well. I didn’t want to come to this extreme, but… I bet you a hundred bucks that, less than a year after my wedding, I’ll be crying at yours.”

“That’s going to be the easiest hundred dollars I’ll win in my life”, said Kate with a snicker. “A year? Kevin, honey, you’re insane.”

“That’s how much trust I have in you two. Now, get your head in the board game or Rani will win like she did last time. Deal, Miss Williams?”

Kate went to side beside Rani and winked at her friend.

“Deal, Mr. McMichaels. For better of worse.”

* * *

  
Miguel parked his bike outside the dojo, checking the time on his phone. It was early, way too early. Not even Sensei Lawrence had arrived yet, but fortunately a few weeks before he had given the boy a copy of the keys. The other kids were probably killing some time before class at the mini-mart, or at Gladys’s café, but Miguel didn’t feel like talking to anybody.

Once inside Cobra Kai he went to the locker room, took off his shoes and sat on a bench. It was the first day of August, and he wondered how Summer had gone by so fast. In fact, the whole year had passed in a flash: it felt like mere days since he’d met his Sensei, since he had started training. Sure, there had been a lot of changes in his life since then; the scuffle at the cafeteria, the arrival of new boys (and girls) to the dojo, the tournament, his fight with Sam…

Sam. He let out a frustrated groan thinking of her, and especially thinking of her brand new boyfriend. Miguel had been patient, like she wanted; she had told him she’d wait until school started again before making a decision… but those had been just empty words. Words without value, and now his last thread of hope had vanished.

He also had the feeling that he was losing his closest friends. Demetri hanged out more with the Miyagi-Do guys than with him; it was hard to blame him, but it still hurt that he had chosen a different dojo. And Hawk… they saw less and less of him every day. When he wasn’t busy with Moon, he disappeared for the whole day saying he’d gone to the beach for a run, or to train alone. Miguel wondered where the old Eli Moskowitz had gone, because he really missed him sometimes. Sure, there was always Aisha, who now Miguel considered his best and most loyal friend; and the new girls, who were cool and fun to be around. But he missed the times when it had been just Demetri, Eli and him. They may have been social outcasts, but at least they were always there for each other.

The sound of voices outside the room made him jump out of his thoughts. He changed into his training gi and went to meet Hawk, who had just arrived.

“Hey, man. How are you holding up?”

“Meh. Fine”, was the not very enthusiastic answer.

“Oh, come on!” Hawk said with a disgusted face. “Get over that girl already! It’s been a week since Moon and I saw her with that idiot. Look, I’ll ask Moon to get you a friend, okay? If I can go out with the hottest chick in West Valley High, I’m sure you can get any other girl you want.”

“That’s the problem, Eli. I don’t want any other.”

“Dude, really? Don’t be a snore!”

He brushed Hawk off and thought about going to sit with the girls. At least they wouldn’t chide him about Sam… but Keiko was also there, and Miguel knew that if he started talking to her the conversation would inevitably shift towards her brother. And just thinking of the infuriatingly perfect Shiro Yashida made his stomach turn.

With no one else to talk to, he went back into the changing room and locked himself in one of the stalls. He had ten minutes before the class started, and if he couldn’t share that time with anyone at least he could be alone and in peace.

Outside, Miguel’s maneuvers had been closely observed by the four girls. Grace made a sign for the others to go into the girls' locker room.

“Did you see Diaz out there looking like a lost puppy? What the hell is happening to him?”

“I think he’s depressed”, intervened Sophie.

“No shit, Sherlock”, said Aisha. “He’s been like that for a week, and every time I try to talk to him he shuts me out. I don’t know what else to try.”

“I think it had something to do with Hawk”, observed Keiko while she arranged her hair in a ponytail. “I saw them talking the other day, and Miguel’s face fell as if someone had died.”

“I have a theory”, said Grace, while she rearranged the stuff inside her locker. “And I think I know a way to get his spirits up. Keiko, you’re single, right? No long distance relationship with a boy in Ohio, or anything?”

The Japanese girl blinked, confused.

“Yeah, I’m single, but… Oh, no. I know what you’re thinking, Grace, and the answer is ‘No way’.”

“Come on, Miguel needs a girlfriend!” insisted the other girl. “School won’t start for another three weeks, and even when it starts we can’t know if there will be any new girls or not. Sophie and I are not exactly single... and not exactly straight; and Aisha only thinks of him as a slightly annoying brother. So… that leaves you. You’re smart, and pretty, and he likes you.”

“As a friend. Only as a friend.”

“That could change, if you play your cards right....”

“Stop looking at me like that!” said Keiko, alarmed. “The only thing I feel when I think of Miguel is the urge to watch videos of kittens on Instagram.”

“He’s kind of cute. I mean... for a boy.”

“Yeah, but not my type. Too soft. Besides, he’s still hung up on Samantha LaRusso… what girl in her right mind would want a boy who’s in love with someone else?”

“We need to cheer him up, it’s our duty as his friends! And if setting him up with someone is not the solution, what else can we do?”

“Play videogames with him? Throw him a wild party? Buy him porn? Buy him booze?” Keiko recited all the options she could think of, trying to find the right one.

“Nah, he doesn’t do booze anymore”, said Aisha. “He got drunk for the first time in his life last May, and he screwed up big time with Sam.”

Keiko rolled her eyes. “Typical.”

“And we’re not buying him porn. It’s degrading and dehumanizing to women… besides, he can find it online for free”, Grace added, matter-of-factly.

“I only threw that one in as a joke!” laughed Keiko. “I’ll try anything that doesn’t involve setting me up with him.”

“What about the Lake Balboa thing?” intervened Sophie, who had been silent until then. “It’s less than two weeks away, right? Maybe he’ll meet a girl there.”

Aisha shook her head.

“You weren’t there when the tournament happened, Soph. The ratio of girls to boys in any dojo in the Valley is a total disgrace. There’s a dozen boys for each one of us… and Miguel may look tough and shit, but deep down he’s a big softie. He won’t stand a chance among all the competition.”

“Unless we help him”, stated Grace in a firm voice.

“Help him hook up with a girl? How?”

“Hey, I think Grace is right”, said Keiko, who was starting to see the advantages of Grace’s plan. “Miguel is the reigning champion, it will be easy to make him popular at the meetup. We can be super friendly with every girl we meet, and then tell them how cool he is, and how he’s been nursing a broken heart all Summer… you know, all that sappy stuff. I bet he’ll have a dozen phone numbers by the end of the day.”

“We don’t even know if we’re going to that meeting or not”, said Aisha, who kept playing devil’s advocate. “Sensei said he’s not sure it will be good for Cobra Kai, he hasn’t decided yet.”

“Of course we’re going! Sensei only said that to make us train super hard and work for it.”

“So, we have a plan. _Operation Matchmaker_ is under way”, said Grace, slamming the door of her locker and grinning at the others. “And I know it’s going to be a success.”

* * *

  
Thirty minutes into the class, Johnny stood on the edge of the mat, watching the kids while they sparred. Every now and then he gave an order, or corrected a student’s technique. But for the most part he was just observing them, taking mental note of their progress.

Right in front of him, Kev was desperately trying to block Aisha’s punches. Johnny knew the girl went to swim in the ocean almost every day, and the constant fight against the waves had made her stronger and leaner. A true Cobra. She could even hope to reach the finals on her next tournament, if she kept getting better.

A little to the left, Rattler and Virgin were quite evenly matched. The girl was smaller, of course, but she knew how to use her size as an advantage, dodging instead of blocking, slithering out of the boy’s way and throwing kicks towards him with uncanny speed.

“Man up, Virgin! You’re letting an eight-year-old sweep the floor with you!” Johnny barked. “Rattler, keep your guard up, and don’t stop moving those legs!”

When the students couldn’t see him, he smiled. He knew Kate was horribly proud of her girl… and seeing the little one do so well in class made him feel proud, too. The kid had the marks of a future champion, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to make her win the All Valley tournament some day. Preferably when she had grown a bit taller than her current four feet, or the trophy would be bigger than her.

A series of pained grunts and groans attracted his attention to the furthest end of the room. Hawk had just thrown a high kick aimed at Keiko’s head. She dodged it by the skin of her teeth, and retaliated with a blow to the boy’s ribcage, but he managed to block it and counterattack, making her lose her balance and fall. Keiko hit the mat and jumped to her feet again, making a sound that was almost a growl.

Johnny frowned. He knew the girl was technically superior to Hawk, and almost as strong as him. In fact, he had made Hawk spar with her because he had been late to training twice in the past week, and Johnny knew Keiko would make the boy eat some humble pie. But the little shit was actually stepping up to her level, pulling out some moves he didn’t know he had.

“Well, watching all those karate videos on his phone had to be good for something”, he muttered to himself. Unlike Aisha, who devoured number after number of Black Belt magazine, or Miguel, who liked to train alone for hours, Hawk had been trying to absorb his advanced karate knowledge via YouTube. And, apparently, he was succeeding.

He also had the advantage of being completely ruthless. Most of the other boys held back a little with they were fighting girls... Even Johnny did that when he was teaching them. It was instinctive, a remnant of the ‘no hitting girls’ mantra that was ingrained in the brain of every kid when Johnny had been a little boy. It was something you simply didn’t do.

But Hawk didn’t care about that. The person in front of him, boy or girl, young or old, was The Enemy; and he treated every fight as if it was a tournament. For a second, Johnny was reminded of his old friend Dutch. He had been the ruthless one back in the day, the one who had to be physically dragged away from his opponents almost in every fight. But not even Dutch would have attacked a girl with the vicious blows that Hawk was directing towards Keiko. If the girl’s defence hadn’t been so good, it would have been a massacre.

The rest of the boys and girls were also busy in one-to-one combats, with varying degrees of success. Johnny let out a sigh; many were still sloppy and amateurish, but at least they were getting better every day. All of them, including the one he could have sworn would quit after the first week…

_Whack._

“Ouch!”

The familiar sound of a body hitting the mat came from behind Johnny’s back. He rolled his eyes and turned around, expecting to see Sophie on the floor once again. He had made the girl spar with Miguel for weeks, hoping to toughen her up a little, to awaken the snake inside her; but he was starting to lose hope. Some people were just not made for fighting.

That’s why he got such a shock when he saw Miguel on the floor, groaning and raising a hand to his jaw... exactly to the point where the girl had just kicked him with all her strength.

“What the f...?” Johnny stopped himself just in time. He was getting really good at not swearing in front of Rattler, most of the time. “Joy! Did you do that?”

“I think so… I mean, yes, Sensei!” she said, with her doe eyes wide open.

Around them, everybody else had stopped, astonished. Grace beamed at her girlfriend, who stood frozen in place, trying to assimilate the idea that she’d almost knocked out the best Cobra Kai student.

Ignoring the boy on the mat, Johnny stood in front of Sophie and gave her a congratulatory nod.

“Well done, Joy. We’ll still make a fighter out of you… and you’ve earned the right to spar with your girl for the rest of the week. But don’t rest on your laurels, remember that you’re only as good as your last match. Understood?”

Sophie nodded and went to stand beside Grace, who gave her hand a quick squeeze.

“Diaz! Can you stand, or should I call your mommy to pick you from the floor?”

The boy jumped upright, with his hand still rubbing his face on the point where the girl had hit him. It was starting to turn red.

“I can stand, Sensei.”

“Good.” He gave him a pat on the shoulder; it had to be humbling that a chit of a girl had been able to hit him so hard. “Remember that you can’t win every time, don’t underrate your opponent again. Now, go fight with Caleb.”

Miguel bit his lip and lowered his head. He had allowed himself just one second of confusion, but it had been enough for Sophie to find an opening. He shook his head, cursing the array of sentimental woes that had made him divert his attention from the training.

With slow steps he crossed the mat and stood in front of his new opponent, grinding his teeth. As soon as Johnny gave them the signal, he landed a perfect kick on Caleb’s ribs. He had already lost enough time moping about a girl who didn’t want him; now karate was the only thing he had left, the only thing worth losing sleep for.

He wasn’t going to get distracted again.

_No Mercy._

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I've been nursing a cold that turned my brain into mush for several days.  
> The next chapter will take place entirely at Miyagi-Do, where Daniel and his students will receive the visit of the kids from the Los Angeles urban camp (including Rani, of course). I'm really looking forward to writing that one... Stay tuned!


	22. Kismet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flock of children pay a visit to Miyagi-Do. Daniel makes a few wrong assumptions… and then some more, because why not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place completely in Daniel's territory. I have to admit that, while Johnny is still my favorite Cobra Kai character, it's really fascinating to try and get into Daniel's head. You'll tell me if I did it right or not... Enjoy!
> 
> I almost forgot to add: apologies for all the things I got wrong in the fight scene, including targeting an illegal area. It had to be that way for the scene to work.

CHAPTER 22. KISMET

Daniel checked his reflection in the mirror, sighed, and untied his gi for the third time that morning.

“Darn. I must have ironed it wrong again”, he muttered.

The LaRussos had a housekeeper that came to their house three times a week, but Daniel never let anyone take care of his karate gear, not even Amanda. It was too intimate, too personal… so personal that he took it like an affront when his collar refused to stay perfectly straight and symmetrical.

At last, he managed to make it look exactly like he wanted, tied his headband, and checked the clock on the wall. Ten minutes until the children from the urban camps arrived, and everything seemed to be in order.

He stepped out of his office and went to see if his students were ready. What he saw made him extremely proud: Sam, Shiro and Demetri were already standing in line, wearing their immaculately white gis. Robby hadn’t arrived yet; the boy had insisted on going to LaRusso Auto early and working for a couple of hours before joining them at the dojo. Since the day he had moved to Daniel’s house, it was as if he was trying to prove himself beyond his limits.

A quick rap at the door startled Daniel, making him think that his visitors had arrived early… but it was Amanda, cell phone in hand, with Robby beside her.

“You all look great! Stand together, I’m going to take a picture.”

“Hello, darling”, he said, kissing her cheek. “What a surprise, I thought you were going to stay at the dealership today.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world”, she said, snapping several pictures of Daniel and his students. “You know how much I love little kids… besides, Robby needed a lift.”

While the boy greeted his friends and disappeared towards the changing room, Amanda leaned in to whisper in Daniel’s ear.

“He was at the dealership at seven this morning. Did you tell him to do that?”

“Of course not!” he answered in the same hushed-up tone. “I told him he didn’t have to work today… He’s spreading himself too thin between work, training and his GED; I should give him a week of paid vacation, or he’ll have a heart attack one of these days.”

A rumbling noise outside put an end to the conversation. Daniel and his wife headed out, where the group of small children and their teacher were getting off a school bus.

“Welcome to Miyagi-Do Karate!” he said with his best smile. “My name is Daniel LaRusso, and this is Amanda. Are you ready to have a great time?”

The children cheered and clapped, expectant, and the grey-haired woman who was in charge of them shook hands with Daniel.

“Good morning, Mr. LaRusso; I’m Mrs. Clarke, we talked on the phone the other day. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’ve let us organize this visit on such short notice.”

“It’s our pleasure. The original plan was taking them to All Star Karate, right?” asked Daniel.

“Exactly”, replied Mrs. Clarke in a tired voice. “But the person in charge of the urban camps didn’t take into account that the teachers of that dojo are on vacation until September… if you hadn’t offered us your help, the kids and I would have to spend another day at the Natural Science Museum. And, between you and me… there’s a limit to the number of dinosaurs I can see without wanting to ask for an early retirement.”

They all laughed at the teacher’s joke (if it was really a joke), and Amanda ushered the kids inside. It was a noisy bunch, a dozen boys and girls, all around eight or nine years old.

The first part of the visit was introducing them to Daniel’s students. All the little girls flocked towards Samantha, while the boys stood near Shiro and Demetri. Then they went for a quick tour of the building: the two training rooms, the patio, the gym… The children were ecstatic, observing everything with wide eyes.

“We’ll show you the garden and the koi pond later”, said Daniel once the group had returned inside. “Now, please sit on the tatami while I tell you a couple of things about karate.”

He started, of course, by showing them the portrait of Mr. Miyagi and telling them a short story of his old mentor’s life: how he had fought in World War 2, settled in the Valley, met Daniel and become his teacher. He kept an eye the group of children, hoping he wasn’t boring them too much with his lecture… They were sitting in a semicircle, listening intently and taking in all his words. So far, so good.

“And now, something a bit more fun: Shiro is going to tell you about kata, which is the foundation of the karate I teach here, while Sam and Demetri do a practical demonstration. Come on, Shiro.”

Daniel retreated to the back of the room and let his older student explain the basics of kata while the other two put his words to practice with coordinated movements. It had been Sam’s idea, to mix the theory with some visual examples, and the kids were fascinated by it. They were so quiet and well behaved that he could even hear the tatami rustling softly under Sam and Demetri’s bare feet.

A moment later, Robby came out of the changing room and joined Daniel.

“Sorry, Mr. LaRusso”, he whispered, careful not to interrupt the class. “My Mom just called from Texas while I was changing… she asked me to say hi.”

“It’s okay, Robby. The others are doing a great job with the demonstration, and you’ve arrived just in time to step in for the next part. Don’t worry.”

About fifteen minutes later (Daniel had asked Shiro to keep the presentation short), the lesson on kata ended, followed by a round of applause from the kids and Mrs. Clarke. The teacher seemed really happy to spend her morning watching something other than dinosaurs.

“Thank you for your attention”, said Shiro, giving the children his deepest and most formal bow. “Sensei LaRusso, will you take charge again?”

“Of course. Is everybody having fun?” asked Daniel.

A loud chorus of ‘yes’ greeted him.

“Wonderful! Now it’s time for you to meet another one of my students. Robby, come here.”

The boy stepped into the semicircle of kids, blushing slightly. He wasn’t used to being the center of attention, and he also wasn’t sure how to interact with small kids. His shy wave met with a wall of mildly interested smiles coming from all the children… Well, from _almost_ all of them. Daniel noticed that one of the young visitors, a tiny South Asian girl with huge black eyes, gasped the moment she saw Robby, as if she was in the presence of a rock star.

“Hey, you’re Robby Keene!”

The boy crouched in front of her, trying to remember if he knew this particular child.

“Ah… yes, that’s me. Hi. Have we met?”

“No, but I saw you in the videos of the tournament. You’re very good!” was the enthusiastic answer.

“Looks like you’ve got a fan, Robby”, said Daniel with a proud smile. “What’s your name? Do you like karate?”

“I’m Rani. I do karate since I was six years old... I’m eight now.”

“Splendid! We have a secret martial arts student in the group… But why didn’t you say anything while Shiro was explaining the kata?”

“My Mom says it’s rude to interrupt, Sensei LaRusso.”

Daniel nodded. He still felt uncomfortable every time someone (usually Shiro) addressed him as ‘Sensei’, and it sounded even weirder coming from a little girl. But she was clearly very polite and respectful, and he started wondering what it would take for the kid to leave her current dojo, wherever that was, and join Miyagi-Do.

“Well, well. As Miss Rani here says, this young man is Robby Keene, the first student of this dojo. He was a finalist in this year’s edition of the All Valley karate championship; you can see his trophy over there.”

The children turned around to admire the golden award, displayed along several others in a glass case. One little boy raised his hand.

“Are all the other trophies yours, Mr. LaRusso?”

Daniel gave the kids a proud smile.

“That’s right. The two bigger ones are from my own All Valley victories. Would you like to see them up close?”

He led the kids to the back of the room and opened the glass case, letting the boys and girls hold the shiny trophies while he told them about the tournament. At one point, he searched for the South Asian girl: she was at the back of the group, silent again, and she seemed more interested in observing his other students than in admiring the trophies.

“So, Rani… wouldn’t you like to win one of these someday?” he asked, fearing that he was losing her attention.

The little girl’s eyes lightened up. “Yes, Sensei. I’m going to win more than one.”

Daniel and the Miyagi-Do students looked at each other, intrigued.

“More than one?” asked Robby. “You know it’s really hard just to reach the semifinals, right? I had to train very hard and defeat lots of people to win my trophy.”

Rani crossed her arms and jutted her chin up.

“I know it’s hard… but I have a plan. I’m going to be the first three-time All Valley champion.”

There was a sudden silence in the room, and all heads turned towards her.

“What?” said Daniel, when the surprise allowed him to speak.

“Nobody has won the tournament three times before, so that’s what I’m going to do. I need to win when I’m fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen, so I have… I have seven years”, she said, counting on her fingers to make sure she got it right. “Yes, seven years to train hard and to become better than everybody else before my first win. My Mom is going to be super proud of me.”

“And your Dad too, I’m sure.”

“I don’t have a Dad”, said Rani calmly. “It’s just Mom and me.”

Daniel’s expression became unreadable. It should be funny to see a girl so small and so determined to win a tournament full of older kids, but little Rani was too serious for that. Kids raised by a single mother had to be tough… or become tough to survive, like Robby. Or like himself. He was starting to get an idea: the passion and the drive were clearly there, the only thing left was to test the talent.

“I think it’s time we all take a little break. Kids, I’m sure you’ll love to see the Zen garden and the koi pond, right? Demetri is our expert on koi, he looks after them and feeds them every day… I suspect they already like him more than me.”

All the children stared at the tall, lanky boy.

“Actually, Japanese koi are very intelligent fish”, Demetri started, happy that they had finally reached his area of expertise. “The koi is a symbol of personal strength and perseverance through difficult situations, demonstrated by its ability to swim against currents… And they also love to be petted, of course. Come with me, little minions; let’s pay my fishy friends a visit.”

He headed outside, followed by the bunch of children, while Daniel addressed their teacher.

“Mrs. Clarke, do you mind staying here with Rani for a minute? I’d like to see for myself how much karate she knows. Don’t worry about the others, they’re in good hands. Demetri may be six foot tall… but he’s a little kid at heart, too.”

The good Mrs. Clarke, flattered that Daniel thought that one of her kids was special, agreed immediately.

“Rani, sweetheart, come here”, she called. “Stay with us, please. You can go see the fish later, but first Mr. LaRusso would like to ask you a few questions.”

Daniel crouched before the little girl with a kind smile.

“So… Rani, if you’ve been doing karate for two years, you must have learned a lot. Sam here started training with me when she was four, and by the time she reached your age she was almost invincible.”

Rani looked at the older girl in awe. “I’m not as good as some of the others in my dojo, but I train very hard. Yesterday I won a fight with one of the girls, she’s fifteen... but she just started a month ago, so it wasn’t a fair combat.”

The fact that she talked about sparring with a 15-year-old without batting a lash impressed Daniel. Around him, his three remaining students (and Amanda, who had been observing the class very carefully) also stared at the seemingly fearless kid with curiosity.

“Well, actions speak louder than words, so… Would you like to show us what you can do, Rani?” he asked. “You can do kumite with Sam if you want. Or with Demetri, when he comes back from the koi pond... although you can’t be too hard on him, because he just started practicing a few weeks ago.”

The girl nodded and paced up and down before Daniel’s students, like a miniature drill sergeant; she finally stopped in front of Robby.

“You want to spar with me? Why?” asked the boy with an amused smile.

Rani held his gaze. “I told you, you’re very good. I know you’re going to win, but I want to see how long I can hold against you.”

“All right, kiddo”, he said. “If Mr. LaRusso agrees, I will spar with you.”

“Thank you”, she said, grinning. “But don’t do that two-legged kick you used at the tournament. I already asked my Sensei to teach me how to block it.”

Robby pressed his lips together to avoid laughing. He didn’t want to make fun of the child, but she was taking herself too seriously with that kind of warning.

“I promise I won’t… although now I’m really curious to see if you really could block it.”

Rani sat on a bench and started untying her shoes, while Daniel grabbed Robby’s arm and took him apart.

“Please, be careful, Robby.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. LaRusso, I won’t let her get hurt. I’m just going to block her attacks, let her land one or two punches so she doesn’t go home feeling bad with herself, and then make her lose her balance so she falls on the mat… but not too hard.”

Daniel looked at Rani suspiciously. “Fine; but I didn’t mean it just for her sake. I remember Sam when she was that age: one day I told her to hit me as hard as she could, to test her strength… and she kicked my bad knee so hard that I thought it was broken. Little girls have a natural instinct to hit where it hurts.”

“Is that why you sent all the other kids outside?”

“In part, yes. It’s not right that she gets humiliated in front of her friends. When they get back, I’ll tell them that she did a great job, and that she almost won”, Daniel said in a conspiratory tone. “She’ll go back a hero… and, with a bit of luck, she’ll also tell her mother that Miyagi-Do is a better place for her than wherever she’s training now. I think she must be from Krunch… there were a lot of little kids cheering on them from the bleachers at the All Valley. And they have always had an excess of confidence that never really translates on the mat; they’ve never won a tournament.”

He gave Robby a pat on the shoulder and went to sit with Amanda, Sam and Mrs. Clarke. Shiro was already on the tatami, having claimed the role of referee.

The two contenders faced one another and bowed. Rani had rolled up her sleeves, and Daniel saw she was wearing a bracelet made of several rows of wooden beads, that rattled when she moved.

“Well, you know how this goes”, stated Shiro in his kind and gentle voice. “The first one to reach three points wins.”

“Right”, said Rani.

“And two-legged kicks are strictly forbidden”, added the boy, winking at her.

When the improvised referee said ‘fight’, Robby hesitated for a moment, not sure of how to start the combat. He made a mental list of places where he could hit that wouldn’t hurt too much… he would never forgive himself if he made a little girl cry.

That second of waiting proved to be one second too long, of course. Shiro’s voice still echoed in his ears when a small blur launched herself onto the fight, attempting a strike that Robby blocked out of pure instinct.

From his vantage point on the bench, Daniel was hyper aware of both fighters’ movements. He wished he had slow-motion vision (if that superpower really existed) so he could take in every punch, every kick. He knew that both Robby and the little girl were testing each other; the boy had superior strength, but his opponent seemed to be oddly familiar with the Miyagi style; she surely had memorized every one of Robby’s moves on those YouTube videos.

No one had been able to land a punch yet. Rani’s smile had disappeared from her little brown face, replaced by an expression of concentrated fierceness; this wasn’t a mockery of a combat for her, it was the real deal. Her smaller size put her at a disadvantage, of course, and Daniel wondered how was she ever going to…

“Ooof!”

Amanda covered her mouth with her hand; beside her, Sam gasped, and even Shiro seemed surprised as he extended his hand to award the first point... to Rani, who had punched Robby right in the solar plexus, making all the air escape from his lungs. Nobody was more surprised than Robby, who regained his breath with a wheezing sound and readied himself to launch a counterstrike. The girl wasn’t a match for him, of course, and his kick made her land on the mat a second later.

Daniel made a covert sign to Shiro, ready to stop the combat if the little girl cried… but she just jumped to her feet again and assumed a fighting stance, with her little fists raised in front of her.

It was clear that Robby was going to try the same move again, to make Rani fall as gently as he could. However, this time she balanced herself on one hand before hitting the floor and launched a low kick, hitting Robby’s ankle so hard that Sam winced again.

“Point!” Shiro exclaimed, completely caught up in his role as referee. “Two to one.”

Kneeling on the mat, Robby gritted his teeth, paying no heed to the stinging pain on his ankle. It hadn’t been the strongest of kicks, but the girl had hit him right in the joint.

_Little girls have a natural instinct to hit where it hurts._

He took a breath and decided two things: one, that the kid had done well enough to go home feeling proud of herself; and two, that he wasn’t going to give her the chance to win a third point. He realized, almost too late, that he’d been holding back because his opponent was too small and cute.

Well, cuteness be damned.

The rest of the fight lasted only a few more seconds. An open handed strike to Rani’s shoulder gave him his second point, and the third and final arrived in the shape of a well-aimed kick that made her fall flat on her bottom.

When Shiro announced the end of the match, Robby was almost scared of looking at the girl… until he heard her laughing. The little pest was sitting on the mat and laughing her head off, as if she hadn’t just been kicked to the floor!

He kneeled beside her and helped her up.

“Kiddo, are you okay?”

“That was so much fun! My Sensei never lets me spar with the older boys, he says I’m not ready yet.”

“Really?” he laughed. “Next time you go to class, tell him he should let you spar with anybody you want, you can hold your ground like the best of us. Has anybody ever told you that you have a mean kick?”

“My Sensei says that all the time.”

“And that you move super fast?”

“Yes! He says I’m hard to hit because I’m a small target... But I have to learn how to block well because I won’t be this small forever.”

Robby laughed. “Awesome! I’m starting to think that you definitely will win the tournament when you’re fifteen, Rani.”

“It’s Rattler.”

“Sorry?”

“I’m Rani at home, but they call me Rattler at the dojo. Sensei says it’s because I’m small and noisy like a rattlesnake.”

A light finally went off in Robby’s head, and he looked at Daniel, alarmed. An identical frown appeared on Daniel and Samantha’s foreheads; they exchanged a glance in silence, and Sam leaned in to whisper in her father’s ear.

“Aisha told me they had a young girl at the dojo… But it can’t be her, she’s so tiny!”

“Tiny and deadly, it seems.” There was a sudden greenish tinge in Daniel’s face, and he approached the girl with silent steps.

“Rani… I mean, Rattler… You haven’t told us the name of your dojo.”

The girl turned towards him, black eyes wide open.

“Cobra Kai”, she stated, with an angelic smile on her face. She didn’t notice Sam’s horrified expression, nor the way Robby covered his eyes with his hands. She didn’t even realize that Daniel had almost stopped breathing.

In the end, it was Amanda who reacted first.

“If you’re in Cobra Kai you must know Aisha… she’s a very good friend of Sam.”

“Yes, Aisha is great! I want to be like her when I grow up.” Rani nodded at Samantha, as if acknowledging that being friends with a Cobra girl was a mark of status.

Amanda kept asking her questions about the dojo and her friends while she kept an eye on Daniel, whose color was slowly returning to his cheeks. He blinked several times, trying to assimilate the fact that this little girl was being ruthlessly trained by Johnny Lawrence. What she could become in the hands of the wrong teacher, nobody knew… and his blood boiled when he thought of it.

“Rani, do you like Cobra Kai?” he asked when he finally gathered his wits again.

“I like it a lot”, was the enthusiastic response. “I’m learning many things, I have many friends… and Sensei Lawrence is the best. He won the All Valley twice, like you!”

There it was. The brainwashing had already started.

“But don’t you think your teacher is a little harsh on his students?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rani blinked.

“No. He’s teaching us to be stronger, and faster, and…” her voice faded out, and Daniel noticed she was looking at one of the framed pictures that adorned the wall of the dojo. A picture of his old apartment building, taken by Lucille on their first day in Reseda, so many years before. He kept it as a reminder of his origins, a memento of his family’s times of hardship.

“Do you like that picture?”

“I like it, but it’s wrong”, was the enigmatic answer.

“But… it’s a picture, not a painting. How can it be wrong?” asked Daniel, crouching beside the little girl.

“There are three palm trees there, but in reality there’s only two.”

“You’re very clever… and completely right. That picture is very very old, there used to be three palm trees in front of the South Seas building a long time ago… but they cut one of them down. How do you know that, Rani?”

“Because that’s where I live with my Mom.”

Daniel took a slow breath. He looked at the picture, and then at Rani again. That was one coincidence too many. He didn’t exactly believe in signs, but in that moment he could hear the Universe screaming at him; the actual words of the message, however, were not so clear.

Once more, Amanda came to her husband’s rescue.

“And where does your Mom work, sweetie?”

“In an office. She has a laptop and writes papers all the time.”

 _A secretary,_ thought Daniel. _Or an office clerk. In any case, the poor woman is too swamped with work to realize that her daughter has been recruited into the dark side._

“Is your Mom happy with your dojo, Rani?” he asked, determined to get to the bottom of the situation. “She must get scared when she goes to pick you up after practice and she sees all the boys there hitting each other so hard.”

“No, it’s okay”, answered the girl with a shrug. “She comes to pick me up every day, and she always talks to my friends and to Sensei Lawrence.”

“Right. And what does your Sensei think of that? Doesn’t he get angry?” he insisted, imagining Johnny’s annoyance with having a mother constantly intruding in his classes.

Rani made a sign for Amanda and Daniel to come closer, and lowered her voice to a whisper.

“He never gets angry with her. It’s a secret, you can’t tell anyone.”

“Tell anyone what, sweetie?” asked Amanda, frowning.

“Sensei Lawrence likes my Mom.”

“What?” exclaimed Daniel.

“I heard Aisha and Keiko talking about it the other day… they stopped when they noticed I was listening. Everybody thinks I’m too little to notice those things”, she continued, very serious. “But I think it’s true, because Mom asked Sensei Lawrence to stop saying bad words in class, and he did. And the other day he came home and fixed the bathroom window that didn’t close well. That’s what you do when you like someone, you help them with things.”

There was something so solid in her childlike logic that Amanda couldn’t help smiling.

“And what do _you_ think of that, sweetheart?”

“I think it’s great”, Rani answered after thinking about it for a moment. “Mom has never liked anybody before.”

Before Daniel could think of an appropriate answer, the group of children, led by Demetri, came back from the Zen garden.

“I will let you know that these very clever youngsters are now experts in the care and feeding of Japanese koi”, he announced. “Also, some of the koi have been given new names… but I had absolutely nothing to do with that.”

The children laughed. It had only taken them a minute to realize that Demetri was a big softie.  

* * *

  
The rest of the visit passed in a breeze, with a few more sparring demonstrations, some more kata, and a very busy Daniel answering all kinds of curious questions. When it was time for the group to leave, he accompanied them to the exit.

“It has been a pleasure having you here”, he said with a happy smile. “I hope we didn’t bore you too much.”

“Oh, nonsense, Mr. LaRusso!” answered Mrs. Clarke. “This was a lovely visit; the most interesting of all we’ve done so far.”

“And you, kids”, he continued, “don’t forget to tell your parents to bring you to Miyagi-Do if you ever want to give karate a try. We’ll be waiting for you.”

The Miyagi-Do students were also saying their goodbyes; before going into the school bus, Rani stopped in front of Robby.

“I’m sorry I kicked you so hard”, she said, very serious. “I wanted you to see that I’m good, too.”

“It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt anymore”, he laughed, kneeling to speak to the girl face to face. “I’m glad I’ll be too old for the tournament when you get there, kiddo, because you’re going to kick some serious butt in a few years.”

His words were rewarded by a wide grin.

“Can I give you a hug?” Rani asked.

Robby nodded, and hugged her back. This was another thing he wasn’t used to.

The little girl turned then towards Daniel. “Thank you, Sensei LaRusso. This was a lot of fun.”

“Thank _you_ , Rani, for visiting us. And I’d like you to tell your Mom that, if she ever wants to come to Miyagi-Do and pay us a visit, both of you will be very welcome.”

The little girl was the last one to board the camp bus; a moment later, the kids waved goodbye at Daniel, Amanda and the students, until the bus disappeared down the road.

Daniel let out a deep sigh. He didn’t look so happy anymore.

“Robby, I don’t want you to go back to the dealership today; you’ve had a rough morning, take the afternoon off. And the same goes for the rest of you… get changed and go have some lunch. My treat.”

“Is everything okay, Dad?” asked Samantha.

“It’s fine, Sam”, he answered with a tired smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I have things to do, and you’ve all earned a rest. I’ll give you my credit card so you can invite the others to lunch.”

With those words he went back inside and headed for his office, followed by Amanda.

* * *

  
Outside, the four Miyagi students sat on the steps of the house, in the shade.

“That was a weird change of humor”, observed Shiro.

“Weird... and good”, Demetri replied. “Free lunch! Where are we going?”

“I’m not hungry”, said Robby, a bit downcast.

“You’re not hungry after the morning we’ve had? What’s wrong with you?”

“Wrong? Oh, nothing! I’d just like to know why every time there’s a Cobra Kai delivering blows, I get the worst part. Even when it’s a pint-sized one”, Robby groaned, only half joking.

“You have to admit that her technique was interesting”, said Shiro. “I’ll have to keep an eye on my sister if everybody in that dojo fights with so much energy.”

“Come on, man, she can’t have hit you that hard!” said Demetri, regretting that he hadn’t been there to witness the match.

“Hey! You weren’t on that mat, dude. For a second or two after she punched me, I had no idea if I would breathe again… if she had hit me in the nuts, I’d never have kids.”

The others snickered, but Robby still looked a bit depressed. Sam went to sit beside him, trying to cheer him up.

“Look on the bright side, Robby. All the children had a great time… and you have a fan! Rani was super happy to spar with you. I wish I was so chipper every time I lose a match!”

“Do you think my Dad is going to congratulate me for kicking his smaller student into the mat?” Robby quipped. “Shit, now that things were starting to go better with him…”

“She punched you in the stomach first! I think you’re pretty much even.”

“Yeah, I doubt he’s going to see it that way.”

“Can we discuss this in front of a slice of pizza, please?” Demetri grumbled. “I’m starting to feel a little weak…”

Shiro stood up and held the door open. “I agree. Come on, let’s get changed and enjoy our free afternoon, we’ve earned it.”

The four teenagers returned to the building. Robby went in last, dragging his feet. He still wasn’t sure meeting that kid had been a good thing.

* * *

  
“Daniel?”

“Hmmm?”

“Daniel, honey... do you realize you’re putting your shirt on inside out?”

He stopped trying to find the buttons, took the garment off and put it on again, this time the right way.

“Inside out… Isn’t that a sign of bad luck?”

“No, babe”, said Amanda in a patient tone. “It’s a sign that you’re miles away from here. Will you please stop worrying about that little girl?”

Still fumbling with the buttons, he let himself fall on a chair.

“Eight years old, Amanda. She’s eight. How am I going to be able to sleep knowing that she’s being trained to become a killing machine?”

Amanda perched herself on the corner of Daniel’s desk, with her arms crossed.

“I didn’t want to come to this, but… I think you’re projecting your childhood self into Rani. She may be fatherless, and live in your old building… but she’s not you. Besides, she has a mother to make those decisions for her; and, if her mother thinks Cobra Kai is the best place for her to train, there’s nothing we can do.”

“A mother who Johnny has charmed into believing he’s a good man.”

“Charmed?”, repeated Amanda. “All I heard was that he was being nice to her, being a good neighbor, fixing her window... There was no dark magic involved.”

Daniel stood up and finished tucking his shirt into his pants. Then he grabbed his tie from the coat rack. “I have to talk to Johnny. I’m going to ask him to let the girl go, and send her to Miyagi-Do.”

Amanda was starting to feel concerned. It had been a while since the last time she’d seen Daniel so fixated on something.

“This is not a hostage situation, my love. And, after what happened the last time you and Johnny saw each other, I doubt he’s going to listen to you. Wouldn’t it be easier if you talked to Rani’s mother instead?”

“We don’t know her last name… There are almost forty apartments at South Seas, I can’t just go there and start asking if there’s a South Asian single mother in the building. The neighbors will think I’m a creep!”, said Daniel with a frown. “Besides, I’m sure Johnny has told that woman all kinds of lies about me and Miyagi-Do.”

“Again, babe, you’re overthinking things. The girl didn’t have any prejudices against this dojo… for all we know, her mom has no idea who you are.”

“And that’s why I need to talk to Johnny, and not her!” Daniel insisted. “Besides, it’s not decent that he’s dating his lawyer and at the same time fooling around with Rani’s mother. What example is he giving those kids? Typical Johnny… but I’ll try to talk some sense into him.”

“You’re mixing the personal and the professional, babe. Maybe Johnny and Kate broke up and he’s with Rani’s mother now; or maybe they didn’t break up but they’re not exclusive. You have no way of knowing... and I don’t think you should be involving yourself up in other people’s private lives.” She stopped to gather her thoughts, in a last attempt to make Daniel see reason. “Please, don’t make any hasty decisions about this… I don’t want you to bring that little child into your crusade against Cobra Kai, and that’s exactly what you’re planning to do.”

Daniel stepped close to his wife and held her hands in his. “Amanda, I promise I’ll go see Johnny tomorrow with a giant white flag in my hands. Now I’m going to go home, put my thoughts in order and plan exactly what I’m going to say to him...  I don’t want to start a fight this time. The only thing I want is to get that little girl and her mother away from his influence.”

Amanda looked at her husband with worried eyes.

“Not everybody needs your help, Daniel”, she said, fixing the knot of his tie and grabbing his shoulders to make him look at her. “Not everybody needs to be rescued.”

He nodded, leaning into her embrace; but his gaze was still lost in the distance.

“We’ll see about that.”


	23. Clash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate spends the day with her brother and her sister-in-law. Later, at Johnny's place, a difference of opinion explodes into a heated argument.

CHAPTER 23. CLASH

“Come on, uncle Hugh, jump!”

“Jump, Dad!”

The dark-haired man stood on the edge of the swimming pool, making an exaggerated mockery of an Olympic diver’s movements. To the delight of his young audience, he made several funny faces before jumping; then he pretended to lose his balance, changed position in mid-air, and landed on the water face first with a loud noise.

The two children sitting by the pool laughed and clapped. Rani was the one who had encouraged her uncle to jump, and also the one who received most of the second hand splashing. Beside her, her cousin Joel, a boy a few years younger than her, was also having the time of his life.

Inside the pool, Hugh Williams still wasn’t done with the show. He returned to the surface, did a couple of awkward moves imitating a synchronized swimmer, pretended to be attacked by a shark, and finally got out of the water, spattering a shower of drops all around him. Then, while his niece and his son somersaulted into the pool, he grabbed a towel and went to sit near the other part of his audience.

“So, what do the lady judges think of my performance?” he asked, kissing his wife’s cheek.

“I think you were absolutely majestic, mi amor. But don’t splash water around us like that, you’re going to wake up Jamie”, answered the woman, pointing to the toddler, with a striking resemblance to his Dad, who slept in her arms.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Lola, darling”, he said, looking at the sleeping boy with proud eyes. “Jaime is a Williams from head to toe: if he takes a nap after lunch, nothing will wake him up. And what’s my sister’s opinion? Tens across the board?”

“Your sister thinks you chose the wrong career.”

Sitting next to Lola and her younger son, Kate took a sip of her lemonade and grinned at her brother.

“If instead of an engineer you had become a circus clown, you’d be world famous by now”, she continued. “Are you sure you don’t want to change jobs?”

“I doubt the people at Lockheed will allow that. There’s more than enough clowns working for them already… especially in Human Resources. Sometimes I suspect they breed them in a lab.”

Both Kate and Lola laughed at the joke, always keeping an eye on the two kids who were playing in the pool.

“So, is Rani having fun at the urban camp?” Lola asked. “I miss having her home in the mornings.”

Kate smiled fondly at her sister-in-law. The young woman had a really strong maternal instinct, and she was always happy to babysit her niece.

“Thank you for saying that... but I was starting to feel bad, leaving her with you every day for the whole Summer. Besides, don’t you have enough with your two little ones?” laughed Kate. “Joel has energy for several boys… and little Jamie here may look peaceful when he’s asleep, but when he’s awake he can be as overactive as Hugh when he was his age.”

“Oh, I know they’re a handful”, answered Lola. “But I had so much fun looking after Rani… I think I miss having a little girl of my own.”

“The next one will be a girl. I have a hunch”, said her husband with a wink.

“The next one?” asked Kate, surprised. “Are you…?”

“Oh, no! Not yet, at least. Hugh and I agreed to wait a little after I had Jamie. But… maybe next year you’ll be an aunt again. We always knew we wanted a big family.”

“I’m sure you’ll have it. And meanwhile, you can babysit Rani every time you want. Although… school starts three weeks from now; and between that, her friends, and her karate lessons, I’m not sure she’ll have any time left. My daughter has the social life of a Kardashian.”

“Speaking of karate”, interceded Hugh. “How are things with the dashing Mr. Lawrence?”

Kate reclined in her seat and closed her eyes behind her sunglasses.

“Quite well, so far.”

“I _love_ seeing you so enthusiastic”, her brother snickered. “When’s the wedding?”

“Oh, stop!” said Kate with a laugh. “You know I don’t want to rush into things, especially for Rani’s sake.”

“I drove her to her karate class several times last month, when you had to work late, remember?” asked Hugh. “Rani’s happy face every time we arrived to Cobra Kai was only surpassed by your boyfriend’s disappointed stare when he saw me instead of you. Seriously, he looked like a kicked puppy.”

“Shhh, don’t call him my boyf… don’t call him _that_. Rani will hear you, and I haven’t told her yet.”

“Katey, your daughter is a very clever eight-year-old. She’s old enough to understand what having a boyfriend means, and she’s clearly fond of that man. She probably suspects something already, so what are you waiting for?”

“It’s not just her who worries me…” said Kate in a wary tone. “If I tell Rani, I’ll also have to tell Mom and Dad. And you know perfectly well that Dad won’t mind, but Mom is going to be horribly disappointed.”

Her brother let out a loud sigh.

“Yes, well. It’s just bad luck that the man who she thought was the perfect son-in-law turned out to be a monumental jerk. She still hasn’t recovered from your break-up with Simon.”

“Hugh, it’s been nine years since then! Nine whole years... and when she found out Simon was getting divorced the first thing she did was send me a text suggesting that I give him a call. How can I reason with her after that? How can any man in the world measure up to an ideal that only exists in her head?”

“Just tell her that you’re with someone and that you’re happy; she’ll have to accept that you and the jerk are never going to happen again.”

“I’m sure she’s still ashamed of me for not being able to have kids. She’s never said it out loud, but sometimes I swear I can see it in her eyes.”

“Nonsense”, interrupted Lola in a firm voice. “You’re a great mother of an amazing child, even if you didn’t give birth to her. Rani is as yours as Joel and Jamie are ours.”

“And at least you didn’t have to endure the nineteen hours Lola spent in the hospital when she had Joel. I love that kid, but… boy, did he have a big head”, joked Hugh, squeezing his wife’s hand. “Going back to the topic at hand: Mom is going to hate your boyfriend anyway, so it’s useless to postpone it. Just call her and get it over with.”

“It warms my heart to hear such encouraging words from my dear brother”, said Kate with a somewhat bitter laugh. “The sad part is, you’re absolutely right.”

“Score! My sister is admitting that I’m right about something!” said Hugh, requesting a high five from his wife. “I’ve never been so happy in my life.”

“Oh, don’t say that”, said Lola with a kind smile. “Don’t listen to him, Kate. I’m sure your mother will like Johnny once she gets to know him.”

Kate took off her sunglasses and sat up, suddenly serious.

“And I’m sure she won’t. Let’s put it like this: I can list all the ways our parents are going to hate him… and it’s going to be a very long list.”

“Go ahead, sis”, said her brother, refilling everybody’s lemonade glasses. “This should be fun. You still haven’t had the decency of introducing him to us, so I’m curious about the guy.”

“Okay, here we go: first, he comes from money, but has no money himself. Only a rich and grumpy stepfather who will probably leave him nothing at all when he dies.”

“That’s not that terrible, is it? We don’t come from money either, and we’ve both done well in life.”

“I guess not. Second, he went to Stanford.”

“Brilliant! One point for Mr. Lawrence.”

“But he dropped out his sophomore year.”

Hugh made a face. “Yeah, that’s not exactly the thing a couple of retired college professors want to hear from their daughter. I take the point away.”

“He’s got a teenage son from a previous relationship”, Kate continued. “I haven’t met him yet, but from what I hear he was a real piece of work until last year. I guess this one could be a neutral point, because now the boy has got a job and he’s changing his ways.”

“Oh, I have another good thing for the list: he’s a business owner”, intervened Lola, always wanting to see the bright side of everything. “With a respectable job… he’s a teacher, of sorts. Right?”

“I doubt our parents will consider martial arts a form of legitimate teaching”, answered Kate with a frown.

“Anything else that can tip the balance on his favor?” asked her sister-in-law.

“He’s got many good qualities, at least in my eyes, but nothing that will impress them. Oh, and... to make things worse, he’s nine years older than me.”

“That might have been a problem when you were eighteen, but… seriously, at our age, that sort of thing matters less and less. Any other skeletons in his closet?” asked her brother.

“Funny that you mention skeletons… but no, apart from him being a bit of a jerk in high school, I think that’s all.”

“Please tell he me hasn’t been to prison”, said Hugh in a conspiratory tone.

“Of course not!” said Kate, scandalized. “I mean… he would have told me, right?”

“Pity, that would be the icing on the cake.”

“Come on, Hugh! Don’t make fun of this. Johnny’s an honest man, who pulled himself out of a bad place last year and is now thriving and doing what he loves for a living. And helping kids. Why is that suddenly a bad thing?”

“It’s not. I’m just warning you to brace yourself for the inevitable lecture from Mom and Dad when they meet him, sis”, he said, trying to make light of the situation. “All those years moving in academic circles have turned them into a pair of education snobs. Remember how hard they were on me when I started going out with Lola? The flack they gave me because she ‘only’ has a community college degree in Fine Arts? The way Mom went on about how illustrating children’s books should be a hobby and not a serious job? That’s nothing compared with what they’ll say to you this time.”

“Well, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Our parents hate coming to California… and Seattle is a thousand miles away, so they probably won’t meet him for several months. I’ll be ready for the inevitable family drama at Christmas, if we make it that far.”

“I think you will”, said Lola. “You have that spark in your eyes, you know…”

Hugh got up from his seat and grabbed the empty jar of lemonade. “Ugh. This conversation is getting too sappy for my taste, so I’m going to the kitchen to refill this. Meanwhile, you and Lola can gossip about your dear Johnny, and tell each other all those things you don’t want to discuss in front of your little brother.”

Kate stuck her tongue at him. “Idiot. Don’t spike the lemonade, remember that you have to drive me home later!”

“Oh, right, I forgot your car was in the auto shop. What was it? The air conditioning?”

“Completely busted. It was like driving inside a sauna… I hope they can fix it soon.”

“You didn’t take it to LaRusso Auto, right?” Hugh joked. Even if he hadn’t met Johnny yet, Kate had told him the basics about his story with Daniel.

“Heavens, no! I’d never hear the end of it if Johnny found out, and I don’t want to risk running into that man, no matter how much I like Amanda. No, I went to Cole’s. Nice place, and they gave me a bubble tea while I filled in the paperwork.”

“Ew. Gross.”

Kate made a face at Hugh again.

“Not as gross as those white mocha frappuccinos that you like so much. It’s a shame that my brother is unable to appreciate real coffee.”

He shrugged, laughed and went into the house. In the pool, Rani and Jamie kept swimming and splashing around. Kate observed her daughter for a long moment, mentally drawing the outline of the conversation she couldn’t postpone for much longer… and also dreading the _other_ conversation, a much less pleasant one, that she was due to have with her mother in Seattle.  

“Kate? Are you okay?” asked Lola, noticing her sudden silence. “You know Hugh is always joking, please don’t let him upset you. Your parents are reasonable people… if they ended up liking me, they will like your Johnny too.”

“They like you because you’re a angel, Lola, dear”, she answered with affection. “I wish I could say the same about Johnny.”

“I’m sure you’d get bored if he was like that”, answered her sister-in-law with a bashful smile. “There’s a reason why women have always liked bad boys, right?”

Kate couldn’t help blushing a little.

“I guess bad boys can have good hearts. At least this one does.”

* * *

  
A few hours later, Kate stood outside Johnny’s door and rang the bell for the second time. She frowned, wondering what could be keeping him… he never made her wait, especially when they had a date.

He finally opened the door; his hair was wet and tousled, giving away the reason for the delay.

“Oh, you were in the shower… Am I too early?” she asked, giving him a peck on the lips. “I left Rani with my brother and my sister-in-law, and then Hugh had to give me a ride because my car’s in the shop.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I went to the dojo to make some repairs, and I didn’t notice the time.”

He picked his wet towel from the floor, where he had dropped it earlier, and disappeared towards the bathroom. Kate leaned on the counter, feeling a bit awkward. Usually Johnny was all over her when she came to his apartment... but this time he seemed sulky, almost distant.

When he reappeared, she did her best to sound cheerful.

“Look, I know we said we’d go out to dinner, but… if you don’t feel like it, we can order takeaway. What do you want?”

“Pizza. Or Mexican… whatever”, was the evasive answer.

That was another red light. Johnny was usually the picky one when it came to takeaway.

“Johnny… is there anything wrong? You seem a little off.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that Rattler was going to LaRusso’s dojo yesterday?”

Kate took a breath and let it out slowly. She owed him an explanation of sorts... but if it was just that what was making him sulk, then there wasn’t much to worry about.

“I didn’t tell you because they weren’t supposed to go there. There was a visit to All Star Karate on the schedule… but the teachers there had some kind of problem, I’m not sure what, and the organization changed dojos in the last moment. I didn’t even know until she came back home.”

“Right.”

Kate felt Johnny’s icy blue gaze on her. She could tell he wasn’t convinced by her words… and that bothered her.

“I’m not keeping things from you, Johnny”, she said in a stern voice. “And I honestly didn’t think this was going to be a problem.”

“Right”, he repeated, between gritted teeth. “LaRusso trying to steal my students is not a problem. Don’t you see what he’s trying to do? Being Mr. Nice in front of your kid so she’ll ask you to send her there?”

“Really, I don’t think...”

“He’s going to do something at the Lake Balboa meetup”, he interrupted her. “Pull one of his dirty tricks to make me look like an idiot and make my students leave Cobra Kai.”

Kate crossed her arms, and tried very hard not to roll her eyes.

“You’re exaggerating, Johnny. You’re making a mountain out of nothing.”

“Yeah, well. It never hurts to be prepared”, he said, clenching his right hand into a fist. “I’m not falling for his tricks again. We’re not going to that fucking meetup.”

“What?” She stared at him, mouth agape. “You can’t do that! It’s just a week away, and the kids have been looking forward to it! I even convinced Mrs. Diaz and Bert’s parents to come and give us a hand… and you already told the All Valley people that Cobra Kai would attend. It’s really unfair to cancel like that.”

Johnny leaned on the wall, with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

“Tough luck. My dojo, my rules.”

Kate let out an exasperated sigh.

“That’s very well while you’re in class. But you can’t rule like a dictator…that’s what your old Sensei did, and look how it turned out. Besides, I’m Rani’s mother. Don’t you think I should have a saying in this? That I should be the one to decide if she goes to Lake Balboa or not?”

Johnny narrowed his eyes and took two steps towards Kate.

“I knew you would end up sticking your nose in Cobra Kai matters.”

“This is more important than Cobra Kai, Johnny” she said, trying to placate him. “It concerns _you_. You, as a person, and as a Sensei with a reputation to uphold... And not going to that meetup will put your reputation in Daniel LaRusso’s hands. He’s going to be repeating all your high school exploits to everyone who wants to listen, and that includes the people in charge of all the other dojos in the Valley. Robby will be there too! You need to control the narrative, and the only way of doing that is by being present.”

“That’s what this is about! You’re obsessed with control, Kate. Control over your kid, your work, your life… until there’s absolutely nothing out of place, not one inch. Do you want to control me, too? Is that it?”

“I can’t believe you’re saying that. When have I told you what to do with your life, or with your business?”

“How about right now?”

“Oh, for the love of God.” She ran a hand through her hair, trying to find the right words. Everything seemed very confusing all of a sudden. “You’re the one who gives orders all the time. I was just making suggestions.”

For a moment, it looked like Johnny was about to see reason. His eyes softened, and his scowl disappeared… but then he shook his head, and the angry words returned.

“All I’m hearing is smooth lawyer talk. I’m not a fucking judge, Kate; you can’t fool me with that.”

That was the final straw for her, now she was starting to get angry too. She crossed the room and perched herself on the armrest of the couch, staring daggers at Johnny.

“You’re right, you’re not a judge. In fact, you seem pretty devoid of judgment right now.”

“More fancy words, miss Ivy League  School?” he snickered.

“I’m not Ivy League…” she stopped herself, realizing that the conversation was getting away from the point. “I’ve never shoved my education in your face, Johnny. Please have the courtesy of doing the same.”

There was an uncomfortable pause before Kate spoke again.

“I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. Forgive me for saying this, but you’re being completely irrational.”

“Nobody asked you to talk to me”, he answered in a  resentful whisper. “Nobody asked you to… to waltz into my dojo and start messing with my business and with my life.”

“That’s the second time in a row that you accuse me of the same thing. Why? What exactly have I done?”

“What have you done? You tell me how to speak to my students, how to dress, how to behave… I’m not your puppet, Kate. If you wanted a mindless jerk in a suit, all you had to do was ask LaRusso to introduce you to that sleazy guy from his shop.”

“Can we have one conversation, just one, where that man’s name doesn’t come up in the worst possible moment?” she huffed.

“I’m not the one who got a personal invitation to visit his stupid dojo. I bet he’ll give you a nice glass of Prosecco while you take the grand tour of his fancy-ass place.”

“He said that to Rani because he didn’t know who I was!” said Kate, determined to get her point across and put an end to the argument. “She never told him she was my daughter. To him, she’s just another random child who loves karate! And I’m the one who makes the decisions for her, not you… if I wanted to visit that dojo, you can be sure that I would have scheduled it by now. In fact… you know what? Maybe I should call that man and ask him for a guided tour. At least he won’t throw silly accusations at me.”

She was being hurtful on purpose, using Johnny’s hatred of his rival to rile him up… but after dodging several attacks she was tired of being the reasonable one. It worked, of course: Johnny flinched, as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying.

“You’re playing right into LaRusso’s hands!” he exclaimed. “God, I can’t believe you’re so naive.”

“And I can’t believe you’re so paranoid. The world is not out to get you, Johnny!”

“And what do _you_ know about the world? You ever had to borrow money from someone you hate to pay your bills? Or wondered where your next paycheck would come from? Have you ever found yourself completely alone and without friends in that precious little world that you like so much?”

Kate covered her eyes with her hands and stood still for a long moment. So long that Johnny bit her lip, wondering if he had gone too far. When she looked at him again, her eyes were dry, but she seemed about to start screaming, or crying, or… God knew what.

In the end, she did none of those things.

“Now you’re saying cruel things just for the sake of it… and you’re hurting yourself more than me. I think I should go.”

Johnny took a hesitant step towards her… but then he clenched his fists and looked away.

“Door’s open.”

The words were barely audible, but Kate recoiled as if he had screamed them at her. She could feel tears pricking behind her eyes; it would be so easy to let them fall, to bring on the waterworks and make Johnny feel sorry for her… of course he was the kind of man who couldn’t stand seeing a woman cry. But she was really angry now. She didn’t want to yield, to give him the satisfaction of being the strong dude who fixes everything by hugging the girl and drying her tears.

She retrieved her purse and took a step towards the door.

“We’ll see things more clearly tomorrow”, she said in whas she hoped was a calm voice. “I’ll call you.”

Johnny bit his lip again and threw Kate a regretful stare.

“Okay”, he whispered.

Kate got out and closed the door behind her without a noise. She really felt like slamming it, but she knew how Johnny would react to that. No, the only logical thing to do was to wait until the waters had calmed, until Hurricane Lawrence had some time to reflect and stop being unreasonable.

If he ever did.

“Fuck!”

The curse emerged from her lips with such force that it surprised her. She had never cursed much, even less after becoming a Mom… but in that moment she could have spat her whole repertory of swearwords. Maybe Johnny and his manners were rubbing on her more than she thought.

After the expletive she felt strangely better. She even thought of going back inside and trying to fix things… But deep down she knew the argument would end up circling around the same topics.

The air around her felt hot and sticky; the storm was getting close. Kate raised her eyes to the sky and saw a wall of black clouds threatening to pour down on the neighborhood. She blinked several times, because the tears were also threatening to come back.

“Just the day I don’t have my car”, she complained to no one in particular. “Wonderful.”

With a sigh, she started walking towards her place in the impending rain, hoping it wouldn’t start pouring until she got home. Almost without thinking she reached for her purse, got her phone, and dialed Kevin’s number.

* * *

  
Inside, Johnny stood in the middle of the living room for a long while, staring at the closed door. Wishing that it would open again and she would come back; but of course he didn’t say that out loud. He almost didn’t dare thinking about it... because there was a nasty little voice in the darkest depths of his brain, a voice that told him Kate was not going to call. Or come back. Ever.

He went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of Coors and returned to the living room with heavy steps. On autopilot, he slumped on the couch and opened the bottle. The beer was cold and bitter like the thoughts in his mind.

He took a long drink, leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

“Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had mentioned Kate's brother and his family before, but I didn't have a good chance to introduce them in the story properly until now. I even have a family picture for you: Lola and Joel in the top row, and little Jamie and Hugh below.


	24. Streetwalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate takes some drastic measures to make up with Johnny. At the same time, Daniel is heading towards Reseda for a conversation he'd rather avoid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the resolution of last chapter’s fight! Please don’t try to fix a disagreement with your significant other like this in real life... some things just work better in fiction.  
> After thousands of words and 24 chapters I’ve realized that I love writing Daniel; I know this story is mostly about Johnny (even when I’m trying not to neglect any of the characters), and he will always be my favorite golden boy, but the truth is I never expected to have so much fun with Daniel’s scenes. Also, a few weeks ago someone in a review called Cobra Kai “misunderstanding land.” Well... this chapter has the misunderstanding to end them all. Coming from dear old Daniel, of course. Brace yourselves.  
> Contents warning: smut, of the quick and dirty variety.

CHAPTER 24. STREETWALKER

Sitting in his living room with a glass of red wine in his hand, Kevin McMichaels frowned and stared at his cell phone. He was home alone, so when Kate called him out of the blue he’d put her on speaker… and then he had spent the next fifteen minutes listening to a very confusing and quite emotional tale of her fight with Johnny.

“...and then I said I didn’t want to argue anymore, and I came home”, said his friend’s voice in the distance. “Oh, I shouldn’t have left like that… I fucked up, Kev.”

“Okay, Katie, listen. I don’t think you fucked up so bad. Yes, it was a heated argument, but from what I hear none of you said anything unforgivable to each other. This can be fixed.”

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line, followed by a tearful sigh.

“I don’t see how, really… I can’t even start thinking of a solution.”

Kevin looked at his car keys on the table. For a moment, he considered the possibility of driving to South Seas to comfort his friend in person… but deep down he knew it wouldn’t do much good.

“Dry those tears, Kate, sweetheart”, he said in his deep and reassuring voice. “Look, you know how much I appreciate Johnny… but maybe this wasn’t meant to be. I mean, you’ve only been together for…”

“No”, Kate’s voice interrupted him, and this time there was no sign of tears. “I’m not throwing this relationship away over a silly fight… if you can call two weeks a relationship. Anyway, whatever this is, I don’t want it to end before it’s started, Kev. It will break his heart.”

“I think it’s very telling that you’re worrying more about his heart than yours, darling Kate”, answered Kevin in a concerned tone. “Okay, don’t panic, we’ll think of something. First: what do you think he's doing right now?”

“Johnny? I don’t know... probably getting drunk.”

“You won’t be able to have a rational conversation with him in that state. Which leaves only one alternative: go over there, but not to talk.”

“So... what do I do? Appear at his place unannounced and get all cuddly with him?” There was a sliver of hope in Kate’s voice, and that made her friend smile.

“No, darling. You go to his place and make his dick an offer that his brain can’t reject.”

“Wait, what?”

“Shut up and listen. Do you own some sexy lingerie?”

“No… wait, yes! The girls at the San Francisco office thought lingerie would be a good parting gift, for some reason. It’s pretty, but I’ve never worn it. But why are you asking–”

“I’ll get to it. Define ‘pretty’, _s’il vous plait_.”

“Well, it’s black with gold lace”, she said, hesitant. “Bra, panties and garter belt… practically transparent, it doesn't leave much to the imagination.”

“Perfect!” Kevin jumped off his seat and started pacing up and down the room.

“Perfect for what?”

“For the booty call you’re going to make, girl.”

Silence on Kate’s end, once more; Kevin wondered if he had scared her and she’d hung up on him… but a few seconds later she spoke again.

“Kevin, is a booty call your answer to absolutely everything?” she asked, sounding mildly offended. “We’re not in college anymore, you know.”

He laughed to himself quietly before answering.

“What you and King Karate need right now is to release some tension. You’ve each made your point clear, and you can’t reach an agreement with words, so… maybe a good session of the horizontal tango will remind that man of the important things in life.”

“Let’s say I do what you suggest”, said Kate’s doubtful voice. “And let’s imagine it works.”

“It will work”, insisted Kevin.

“And then what? We wake up tomorrow and have the same fight again? Sex can’t fix everything.”

“It can’t, but it’s a great way of making Johnny see what he would be missing if he didn’t have you. Apart from your quick wit and your excellent conversation, of course”, he said with a grin. “Tomorrow he’ll wake up and realize that you were right: keeping those kids from going to the excursion is an awful idea and a very bad PR move. He’s just too proud to admit it now.”

He sensed Kate was mostly convinced, but her voice still sounded a bit concerned.

“It’s not fair, manipulating him like this. I’m going to Hell.”

“Awesome! If what the Church says about gay people it’s true, I’ll see you there. It’s going to be a hell of a party… pun intended”, said Kevin with a laugh. “You have nothing to lose, Katie. And, if I’m completely wrong and you two break up tomorrow… at least you’ll end it with a bang.”

“Have I ever told you that you’re a horrible friend?”

“The best horrible friend you can have, yes.”

Suddenly Kevin was aware of a noise in the background. For a moment he looked outside to see if there was thunder, but then he realized it came from his phone. Like the sound of drawers opening and closing.

“Are you still with me, girl?”

“I’m trying to remember where did I put that damned lingerie set”, said the voice among the rumbling noises.

“In that case, I’m going to wish you good luck and hang up. Oliver is about to get home.”

“Thanks for the advice, Kev. Even if it turns to be bad advice in the end, I know you’re trying your best.”

“I love you! Call me tomorrow… if you’re still alive.”

Kevin hung up without giving Kate time to change her mind. Hearing the rustling of a key in the front door, he refilled his glass of wine, poured another one for Oliver, and went to greet his boyfriend with a wide smile on his face.

* * *

  
It was no secret to anybody who knew him that Daniel LaRusso hated the rain.

To be more precise, he hated going out in the rain. He had nothing against being at work, or at home, watching the water droplets slide down the windows; no, that was almost poetic, especially on a quiet Winter evening. But being on the street in the heavy rain like he was now, in the middle of a huge Summer thunderstorm, was not his favorite experience. It reminded him of that other storm in Okinawa, on the night when Mr. Miyagi had saved his friend (and enemy) Sato from a certain death. Those moments were hard to relive, especially since his old mentor had passed away.

He blinked a few times to exorcise the bad memories and concentrated on the road ahead of him.

He knew his way around Reseda, of course. He and Amanda had started their life together in his old neighborhood, only moving to Encino Hills when she got pregnant with Sam. Daniel had taken on a huge mortgage for their house, hoping on the success of his car dealership, but he had been adamant that his daughter wouldn’t be born in that part of the city. Not that he had anything against the place, but… Wasn’t that the purpose of life, to give your children better chances that the ones you’d had at their age?

Now, many years afterwards and despite all his efforts, Fate kept sending him signals that pointed back to the place he tried so hard to forget. First, that damned Cobra Kai dojo was in Reseda now; second, Johnny was a resident of the neighborhood. Third, and maybe the most important, there were a little girl and her mother living at South Seas who needed his help.

And that was the reason he was driving through the streets that he knew so well on a stormy Saturday evening. He had looked up Johnny’s address in the clients database, surprised to see it was only a few blocks away from Daniel’s old building. If it was true that life put everybody in their right place, then… wow, life was suddenly acting in very strange ways and making a lot of important things happen right in the middle of Reseda.

He finally arrived to the address he had put in the GPS of his car. Daniel saw the entrance of an apartment complex, even more battered up than South Seas in the eighties. He stopped the car and sighed, still with both hands on the wheel, thinking how he had moved up from there to Encino while at the same time Johnny Lawrence was taking the exact opposite path.

“Crazy”, he muttered, feeling sincerely sorry for his old nemesis.

He parked on the street, at a prudent distant from the gate. He didn’t want to alarm Johnny driving up to his door… besides, Sam had told him that her ex-boyfriend also lived there, and Daniel didn’t feel like running into the current All Valley champion. No matter how much he wanted to give that little punk an earful, that would have to wait.

His conversation with Johnny was more important.

He rubbed his eyes and gathered his wits, trying to decide on the best way to start. He had gone over several scenarios in his mind, but he was determined not to antagonize Johnny. He would simply state that it would be the best for Rani to train in a less aggressive environment… no reasonable person would find any fault in that. And, if he couldn’t get Johnny to agree, Daniel was even ready to suggest a temporary transfer; only a couple of weeks at first, to see how she adapted to a different dojo. He was sure that Johnny would secretly be glad of getting rid of a little girl who didn’t exactly match the style of Cobra Kai. In exchange for the transfer, Daniel would put in a good word with Robby: the kid seemed almost friendly towards his father recently... and with Daniel’s help it would be easier for both of them to work on a reconciliation.

“Everybody wins”, he thought to himself.

He also had decided not to lecture Johnny about the situation with Rani’s mother. Amanda was right, he didn’t have all the details; and, as immature as it was to be dating two women at the same time, it was hardly a crime... In fact, it was far from being the worst thing Johnny had ever done.

Now with a definite plan in mind, he grabbed his umbrella and got out of the car. The sun had set already, and in any case the clouds were so dark and thick that it felt like the middle of the night. Daniel had just crossed the gate when the lights of another car flashed behind him. He wasn’t really in the mood to speak to any of Johnny’s neighbors, so he closed the umbrella and hid behind a pillar, feeling a bit silly.

When he peeked out he saw that the other car was a taxi. One of the back doors opened, and from the vehicle emerged two feet clad in stiletto heels, followed by a pair of stocking covered legs. Above the legs, a hot pink trench coat, an impossibly bright touch of color in the grey and murky night.

The rain was getting in Daniel’s eyes now, and he could barely see anything, especially when the cab left and the courtyard got dark again. The pink-clad woman, carrying an umbrella, passed by without seeing him; all he could distinguish from the back was her silhouette, walking with a sound of clicking heels towards a door marked with the number two.

Johnny’s door.

Her knock was sharp, urgent, the loud rap of a visitor with no time to lose who didn’t appreciate being kept waiting in the rain.

After a few moments the door opened, and Daniel glimpsed Johnny’s figure in the backlight. He had something in his hand... a beer bottle, maybe, but it was hard to tell. His face remained in the dark, so there was no way to see his expression. Johnny tilted his head to look at the woman from head to toe, ushered her in and closed the door.

Still in his hiding place, Daniel let out a sigh and covered his eyes with his hand. Then he opened his umbrella again, a useless exercise since he was already soaked, and headed for his car.

The talk he had planned so carefully was moot now. He had seen enough.

* * *

  
Johnny’s brain took a few seconds to register the fact that Kate had come back, unexpectedly and against all odds, less than half an hour after leaving. When he saw her shivering in the doorway (why did she shiver? It wasn’t even that cold outside), he clenched his fist and commanded all his restraint, because what he really wanted to do was hold her and never let go. And apologize like a silly little boy until she forgave him.

There was something weird about her, he noticed. Different coat, different shoes… and she looked nervous. Skittish. She just stood there, without saying anything, waiting for him to react, until he took a step back and let her in.

“Hi, Johnny.”

Her voice sounded weird too, agitated, like she was forcing herself to speak calmly and barely managed to do it. She walked up to the living room area, left her purse on a chair and turned around to face him.

Like it always happened when he’d had a couple of beers, his mouth took command of the situation before his brain could react.

“To what do I owe the honor?” he said in a harsh whisper.

Kate bit her lip and stared at him. Johnny had turned off all the lights except for a small lamp, and the apartment felt dark and gloomy.

“I didn’t want to leave things like that”, she started, hesitant. “Come here, please… there’s something I need you to see.”

A light went off in his mind. The wrong light.

“Are you going to dump me?” he asked with a grimace. “Is that it? You want to get rid of me so badly that you can’t even wait until after the storm?”

Kate took a deep breath.

“Johnny… I’m not here to break up with you. Please, sit. Just for a minute.”

“Fine”, he growled, letting himself fall on the couch, still with the bottle of Coors in his hand. “I’m listening.”

“I don’t want you to listen. We’ve talked enough today, and a thousand words are not going to make us have the same opinion.”

“Then what?” he was starting to feel anxious. He wanted to be in control of the situation, not sitting like an idiot waiting for her to do… whatever the fuck she was going to do.

What she did was take off her trench coat. Slowly, with shaky hands. One button, another, and finally the third one.

This time Johnny was the one who took a deep breath. He put the beer bottle on the floor without taking his eyes off Kate; the truth was, he wouldn’t have been able to take his eyes off her even if he’d gone blind. He also grasped the armrest of the couch to keep himself from jumping from it.

Two feet away from him stood Kate… and, at the same time, not Kate.

Because… Kate Williams always wore pretty underthings, of the sensible kind. Classy. Sometimes with flowers on them. Not that slutty lace lingerie, so transparent that he didn’t have to imagine a single inch of her. The worst part was the garter belt, of course. Johnny had always been sure that garter belts were things with no practical purpose, flimsy weapons specifically designed to fry a man’s brain. Something that belonged in dirty magazines and porn movies… not on the body of a real woman, like the one standing in front of him, because that would be just too much.

His throat had suddenly become so dry that he had to swallow before speaking.

“What’s this, Kate? What game are you playing?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

“I don’t play games, least of all with you. I’m just making a suggestion… of something I think we both need right now.”

For a fraction of a second, his brain (still in the process of being fried) suggested to him that he could be dreaming. That was it, he had fallen asleep after having two beers on an empty stomach…

Johnny blinked. No, that couldn’t be it. His dreams were never so detailed. They didn’t smell like expensive perfume, didn’t breathe, didn’t have a pulse that he could almost hear; dreams didn’t look at him as if he was the center of their world.

This was no dream. This was a real woman… _his_ woman, and that possessive thought made a wave of lust rush through his body.

She inched her way towards him. Slowly, taking her time in those absurdly high heels.

Johnny reached up, surprised that his hands were so steady while his mind was being turned into mush. He ran his fingertips over Kate’s bare stomach, going down, stopping right at the edge of her lacy panties.

He smiled. Dreams didn’t shiver when he touched them.

Kate bit her lip when she saw him grinning, and once more he had to keep himself from yanking her down, from biting that mouth himself until she screamed his name and cried for mercy…

Then, in one fluid movement she knelt on the carpet, right between his splayed legs, and slid her hands up his thighs.

Johnny’s heart jumped to his throat, and he found himself unable to speak. Kate had never been so forward before, and he had never asked her to do certain things, because... times changed, apparently, and she was a lady, and in these times that he didn’t fully understand maybe it was horrible manners to ask a lady to go down on…

He felt, more than heard, her hand lowering the zipper of his jeans, and his train of thought stopped.

Well, not just stopped. Completely derailed.

Next he felt her hot mouth on him and struggled to keep his eyes open. He was grasping the armrest again, in a desperate attempt to keep still; when that proved impossible, he inched a hand towards her, carefully —you never distracted a woman while she was doing _that_ , for fuck’s sake— and swept her hair to one side, away from her face.

That made it worse, somehow. Or better. Because now he could see her half-lidded eyes fixed on him, and anticipate the rhythm of her up-and-down motions... and think that, if he ever had to die, he wanted Death to take him in a moment like that.

A low humming sound escaped from Kate’s throat, followed by a feral growl from her lover. With his last shred of rational thought, he grasped her shoulder to make her stop.

“Come here”, he grunted. “Up here, Kate.”

Johnny hooked an arm around Kate’s waist and brought her close so she was straddling him. Now he could smell her perfume, feel the warmth of her skin and the softness of the lace.

He ran his thumb over her lips, those lips that had just done such wicked things to him. He wanted more, wanted all of her. The scant inches of lace that covered her body suddenly seemed offensive; nothing had the right to cover what he desperately wanted to see, least of all some silly scraps of gold and black fabric.

He went for the bra first, fumbling with the hooks, throwing the damn thing across the room as if it burned his hands.

Only then he kissed her, attacking her mouth in an almost blind fury. He ran his lips over her jaw, his tongue over the side of her throat, making her sigh and moan in response.

God, he loved that sound. He needed more of it.

He reached the soft flesh of her breast and bit on it, hard, until he heard a sharp gasp from the woman in his arms. That was going to leave a mark… but he’d be damned if he cared about marks. At the same time his questing hand traveled south, beyond the edge of her lace panties.

Wet. So wet and so hot that, when she wailed and squirmed in response to his touch, his hips jolted up out of pure instinct.

That was all the foreplay he could endure without exploding. He stood up, still with her arm around her, so she had no choice than to hold to his shoulders to avoid falling from those silly high heels. Trying to keep her balance she kissed him slowly, raking her fingers through his hair.

“Bedroom?” she managed to say between kisses.

That would have been a good idea, but Johnny’s feral brain had a better one.

“No”, he muttered in her ear. “Here.”

Remembering the scene the following day, Johnny didn’t quite recall how he had taken off his pants and t-shirt, nor how they both had found themselves in the kitchen, with Kate trapped between him and the cabinets. That part of his memory was kind of fuzzy. What he did remember was Kate’s sultry smile when he practically yanked off her panties with a sound of ripping lace. And how he shivered under his hands when he touched her again, finally without any clothes to keep him from taking in all of her.

Only her garter belt and her stockings remained in place, which in a way was even worse than if she had been wearing nothing.

He used his last amount of restraint to speak once more.

“I need you, babe. Now.”

Her answer was that maddening smile again, and two words whispered in his ear: “Do it.”

Johnny never thought two simple words could have the power to drive him crazy. Without wasting any more time he turned her around, nudged her legs apart, and hit home.

She leaned on the kitchen countertop, holding onto it, tilting her head to one side to look at him. That was sexier than any slutty lingerie, the way she never took her eyes off him.

It felt wicked. It felt deliciously dirty, to have her like this... bent over the countertop, keening, meeting every one of his thrusts with equal force. Trying to keep her footing on those stiletto heels… although Johnny had her grasped by the hips in a vice grip; there was no way he was letting her lose her balance.

No way he was letting go of her until the dance had finished.

Johnny knew she was already close; he felt it by the way her breath hitched when he slammed into her, by how her hands gripped the edge of the furniture. He planted several wet kisses on her shoulder, the side of her neck… on every inch of soft skin within his reach.

Kate’s climax was sudden, loud, almost violent; so much that Johnny found himself wishing that his neighbours had gone out, or he was going to face some weird looks the next morning. But it didn’t matter, of course. Nothing mattered except the woman in his arms, and the wave of pleasure he was riding. And, as waves came, this one was a fucking tsunami.

A last moment of tension, a few more deep thrusts... and he came inside her with a growl, closing his eyes shut because he was starting to see stars.

A soft laugh from Kate brought him back to reality.

“Wow”, she panted. When Johnny retreated from inside her she stumbled, apparently unable to stand on her own, and he put his arms firmly around her.

“Take off your shoes, you’ll fall to your death in those things”, he said.

Without waiting for her to do it he scooped her up and took her back to the couch, where she finally kicked off her heels.

“You okay?” he asked, covering her with the throw blanket. She always felt cold after sex.

She nodded and reached for his hand in silence. Johnny sat on the couch and brought her upon his lap, and for a long moment nobody said anything.

“Look, about before… I’m sorry, babe. I shouldn’t have said those things to you.” His voice was low but clear; he kept touching her, drawing little circles with his thumb on the back of her hand.

“For what is’t worth, I’m sorry too”, answered Kate. “I have no right to interfere with your life. Or with your business.”

“Bullshit; you have every right. All the things you said were true… of course I want the kids to go to the lake and have fun, I’m not an idiot”, he said in a slightly downcast tone. “I wasn’t thinking of the consequences of not going, for me and for Cobra Kai. But hey, if you want to make up like this every time we disagree about something… I’m game.”

“Don’t count on it, tiger. This is a one time thing… for starters, I don’t have any pretty lingerie left. This was my only set, and it’s in tatters.”

“I’ll buy you the whole Victoria’s Secret catalog.”

That made Kate laugh again, and she scooted closer to him. The blanket was barely big enough for both of them, but Johnny’s body heat was like having her own personal furnace.

Johnny was starting to contemplate the idea of moving to the bedroom to be more comfortable, when a less pleasing sound from Kate startled him.

“Oh, no”, she complained.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? Look at what you’ve done!”

Johnny looked at where she was pointing. Indeed, there was a reddish mark above her right breast, a very noticeable love bite.

“Sorry, baby… I got carried away.” He looked contrite enough, but there was a note of pride in his voice.

“You’re not going to get out of this by calling me _baby_ ”, she said, landing a mock punch on his arm. “What am I supposed to do now, wear a turtleneck for a week until it goes away? No amount of makeup is going to cover this.”

“It’s not that bad… is it? Nobody will see it if you’re dressed.”

“Look at the calendar, Johnny. It’s the middle of Summer, and I’d love to take a swim in my own pool without having to worry about the neighbors realizing that I had a very good time tonight.”

“Fine. If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you give _me_ a hickey too.”

“Oh, I should! Right where all your students can see it, so they make fun of you in class.”

“Good. At least they’ll know what happens when one gets laid.”

She shook her head, sighed, and finally laughed. “Caveman.”

“Minx.”

“Okay, enough with the name calling… I don’t want to keep staring at that bite”, she said. “May I borrow your Cobra Kai t-shirt again?”

“You don’t need to borrow it, Kate. It’s yours. I’m only keeping it here for you.”

He jumped off the couch, rushed to the bedroom and came back with the t-shirt. It was absurdly big for her, reaching down to the middle of her thighs when she put it on.

“It looks better on you than on me”, he stated with a grin. “Hey, I wanted to ask you… Do you have anything to do tomorrow morning?”

“No, nothing. Hugh and Lola are going to take the children to the zoo, including Rani. Why?”

“Great. Then we’re going to the dojo, I want to show you how to throw a proper punch.”

He heard a quiet groan from Kate, and then a laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“You, darling. You’re funny, thinking that I’ll be in shape for any kind of exercise tomorrow. Are you going to train me for our next fight?” she asked. “I’m much better with words than with my fists, anyway.”

“No, I just don’t like the idea that my girl is out there not knowing how to defend herself. As for the other thing… we’re not gonna fight ever again.”

“That’s not very realistic, Johnny. All couples fight.”

“Fine. But let’s not fight like that. We both said some shitty things.”

“Agreed. In case you haven’t noticed, I hate arguing.”

“You’re a lawyer, babe”, he pointed out. “You make a living out of arguing.”

“Yes, in front of a judge! That’s a pantomime, it doesn’t matter… it’s not real. I don’t like fighting in real life.”

Johnny opened his mouth to answer, but a rumbling sound coming from his midsection ruined the moment.

“Fuck, sorry”, he said. “I think we should call the pizza place now... I’m starving.”

“Good idea. My own stomach is seconds away from doing that same noise. Or maybe louder.”

Johnny retrieved his boxers from the floor, put them on and went to the other room in search of his phone. He was back a minute later.

“Done. I ordered one with extra mushrooms... though I still don’t understand how you can like that stuff.”

“Awww, thanks! You didn’t have to.”

He sat on the couch again and nuzzled her neck.

“It’s the second part of my apology, getting you the pizza toppings you like.”

“I didn’t know it came in parts”, she said, surprised. “Is there going to be a third one?”

“Sure. The third one is that I promise to behave like a fucking saint on the day of the excursion. I’ll talk to the other senseis, to the parents… whatever you want. I’ll even be nice to–”

Kate interrupted him by putting a finger on his lips.

“Don’t. If I hear that man’s name again tonight, I swear to God I’ll get up and leave, even in the middle of the storm.”

Johnny let out a hearty laugh.

“That t-shirt is having an effect on you. You’re already speaking like a true Cobra”, he said, caressing her hair.

Kate leaned against his chest and sighed. “I knew you’d end up being a bad influence on me, Johnny Lawrence.”

He flashed her a naughty smile, and for a moment he seemed younger, as if a heavy weight had been lifted off him.

“Hey, they didn’t call me Ace Degenerate in high school for nothing.”

“Oh?” she said, looking at him. “What did you ever do to deserve that name?”

“I’m not telling you… that was in another life. Like you said once, what matters is that we’re together now. Even if we’re never going to agree on some things.”

“Like pizza toppings?”

“Yeah. Exactly.” He kissed the tip of her nose, held her tighter, and closed his eyes for a moment. _Definitely not a dream_ , he thought.

Dreams had never been so good.

* * *

  
Back in the LaRusso residence, Amanda, her children, and Robby were all gathered in the living room, enjoying some family time. Daniel had taken off right after dinner, and only Amanda knew where he was. Since the weather was so awful, she had suggested a game of Monopoly to pass the evening: Sam had groaned a little because she wasn’t a fan of board games, but Robby had seemed so enthusiastic that in the end she agreed to play.

After half an hour of playing, the game was being dominated, almost unfairly, by Anthony. The boy, once Amanda convinced him to turn off his video game, was proving to have a surprisingly good eye for strategy and real estate speculation, and all the other players already owed him a lot of money.

The boy was about to buy his fifth hotel when the front door opened, and a very serious (and extremely wet) Daniel appeared.

“Hi, Mr. LaRusso!”

“Hi, Dad!”

The chorus of young voices did very little to cheer him up. He closed the door and remained standing on the threshold.

“What’s wrong, baby?” asked Amanda. “Come in, you can still join the game… if you don’t mind your son the tycoon relieving you of all your money in ten minutes.”

She knew something was indeed wrong when Daniel didn’t even try to smile.

“I’m going straight to the kitchen… my clothes are all wet, and I don’t want to ruin the carpet”, he said in a tired voice.

“But, honey…”

“Amanda, I need to talk to you right now, please. Kids, sorry to take her away from the game, but this is important. I promise she’ll be back in five minutes.”

Anthony shrugged and turned on his PlayStation. Sam and Robby looked at each other, confused, and Amanda made a beeline towards the kitchen. Once there, she helped Daniel out of his soaked coat and gave him a towel. Then she pressed a button on the coffee maker.

“Before you say anything, I’m going to make you a pint-sized latte. You look like you could use one.”

“Thanks, my love”, he said in the same weary tone as before. “Although what I really need right now is a very hot shower.”

“I can arrange that, too”, she said, looking at her husband with affection. “But first tell me what happened with Johnny. That was a very short visit, I wasn’t expecting you for another hour at least.”

“What happened was… nothing. Exactly nothing.”

While this exchange took place, an unexpected witness had taken position behind the kitchen door. Robby had made a quick excuse to Sam, slipped off his shoes, and followed Daniel and Amanda. He knew Mr. LaRusso had gone to speak with his Dad about that little girl; in fact, he’d almost asked him not to go. He had some first-hand experience on how stubborn his father could be… and he suspected Johnny wasn’t going to give up on any of his students, especially at his enemy’s suggestion. What he couldn’t imagine was how the conversation could have gone so terribly wrong, because Mr. LaRusso looked defeated, exhausted… and, above all, deathly pale.

With an ease provided by many years of eavesdropping at home, he put his ear to the door and kept listening.

“What do you mean, nothing?” Amanda asked. “Daniel, please tell me you didn’t get in a physical fight with that man. Remember that he’s Robby father, and…”

“I didn’t even have a chance to knock on his door”, Daniel spat. “He was too busy.”

“Daniel, darling, either you speak plainly or this conversation is going to take all night”, she said, crossing her arms.

He leaned on the marble countertop, willing his hands to stop shaking, and looked at Amanda right in the eye.

“Here it goes, as plainly as I can put it, and I apologize in advance for the language: Johnny had a hooker delivered to his apartment tonight.”

“Wh… what?” Amanda covered her mouth with her hand, dumbstruck.

“Apparently it’s not enough for him to be fooling around with two women at the same time. He needed an extra dose of... _entertainment_ ”, he said between gritted teeth.

“Shhhh! For goodness sake, Daniel, the kids will hear you! And how did you know she was a… a hooker, anyway?”

“Who else gets off a cab on a night like this wearing a hot pink trench coat with nothing underneath? I didn’t mean to peek, honey, I swear… but I saw enough to notice there was no sign of a skirt.”

“Oh, no”, whispered Amanda, dismayed. “Poor Kate. And poor Rani’s Mom, too… Really, I don’t know Johnny that well, but I never thought him capable of that.”

“Me neither. Life gives you surprises, I guess… I feel like an idiot for giving Johnny another chance”, said Daniel in a bitter tone.

The coffee maker beeped. Amanda served two steaming lattes in silence, and offered one to Daniel.

“So… what happens now?” she asked. “Are you going to try talking to him again? Do you think he’ll listen to you?”

Daniel took a sip of his coffee.

“Oh, he’ll listen to me alright. Next Saturday he _will_ hear me, when I call him out in front of the All Valley Committee, and tell them the reason why Johnny is completely unfit for teaching children.”

His breathing was agitated, and his voice shivered with barely contained rage. The famous LaRusso temper had taken hold of him again.

Amanda had had eighteen years to learn the warning signs of the aforementioned temper. She put her hands on Daniel’s tense shoulders and gave him a light massage.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I know how much you wanted to fix things with him this time.”

He didn’t answer, his glassy gaze lost in the distance. Amanda gave him a kiss on the cheek and made him look at her.

“Why don’t you go have that shower and then join us for some board games? You’ll feel better once you’re warm and dry.”

“I doubt it”, he pouted. Then he caressed Amanda’s cheek with his still cold hand. “You’re the best woman in the whole world. Do you know that?”

She returned the gesture with a kind smile. “And you’re my wonderful man who always carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. But I love you for that… and sometimes even in spite of that.”

Daniel embraced his wife in silence. For once in his life, he had run out of words.  

* * *

  
Behind the door, Robby felt hot tears running down his cheeks. He was burning with embarrassment... and at the same time swallowing his rage, trying not to make a sound.

He remembered little Rani, with her permanent smile and her swift kicks, talking about his Dad as if he was some kind of hero. And letting slip that there was something between him and her mother.

Robby had met too many of Shannon’s boyfriends over the years, but on his father’s side none of the women he’d been with had lasted long enough for the boy to get to know them. After Rani’s visit to Miyagi-Do, he had been idiot enough to hope. To think that if his Dad had a girlfriend, maybe it meant that he was changing his ways, even a little. Idiot enough to imagine a perfect little future where his deadbeat Dad was… for lack of another word, normal. Serious. Respectable. But no, this was even worse than before. This was the kind of thing one hears and wishes he could forget.

With his shoes still in his hand he rushed towards his room, locked the door and fell flat on the bed, sobbing and cursing. He didn’t care that he was supposed to go back to the board game. He didn’t even care if Sam or anybody else could hear him.

It didn’t matter anymore.

* * *

 

 


	25. Lakeside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the dojos arrive at the Lake Balboa park for a fun day out. Daniel warns his students not to get into trouble, and he also realizes he's made a tiny mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again after the Christmas hiatus! Sorry it took so long, I had a few things to organise for the next few chapters.  
> This is the beginning of the Lake Balboa excursion; I'm afraid this part is not too exciting, but don't worry because the excursion is going to last four chapters. There are lots of things that need to happen in just one day... I hope you like them all!

CHAPTER 25. LAKESIDE

Johnny arrived at Cobra Kai at nine a.m. sharp, and he was glad to see that most of his students were already there.

According to the organizers, all the dojos had to be at the Lake Balboa Park before ten, and he didn’t want Cobra Kai to be late… or too early. Maybe they were the newest dojo in the Valley (well, except for LaRusso and his puny karate beach bar), but they had a reputation to maintain.

He stopped the car and opened the back door for Rosa Diaz to get out. Miguel’s grandmother had volunteered to be one of the adults in the party, along with Kate... and, surprisingly, Bert’s parents. Like a good Latin grandma, she had also volunteered a huge amount of food, and that was something to look forward to.

“Thank you, mijo”, said Rosa, who looked absolutely thrilled to be there. “Miggy, did you remember to put ice in the coolers? And my Orangina?”

“Yes, Yaya”, answered the boy dutifully, as he got out of the car. “Everything is in the trunk.”

The sound of another engine approaching put a smile on Johnny’s lips: Kate and Rani had arrived. He noticed Kate was wearing tight jeans and a light pink shirt… pink was an unusual color for her. She was also wearing her pink trench coat, one that was forever associated to very nice thoughts in Johnny’s mind, and he couldn’t help an appreciative smirk

Around them, the kids greeted each other, remembered things they had forgotten at home, and made all kinds of plans for the day in a very loud voice. Almost all of them wore Cobra Kai t-shirts... but not the typical black ones. Kate had sent a box to the dojo the day before, containing two dozen t-shirts with a slightly different design; Johnny wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but he couldn’t deny that they looked good. And at least they had the snake on them.

“Hey”, he said, approaching Kate.

Even when he knew their relationship was hardly a secret to most of his students, they were still keeping it under wraps for Rani’s sake. And, after the huge fight they’d had the week before, Johnny didn’t want to press the issue… but it was going to be hard keeping his hands off Kate all day, he thought.

“Good morning”, she answered with a cheerful smile. “So, the big day has arrived… are we missing anybody?”

“Only Bert and his folks.”

“Oh, yes! I talked to his Mom on the phone yesterday, she said they would be a little late.” Kate gave Johnny’s hand a quick squeeze when nobody was looking. “I know you’re worried about what can happen at the lake… but I have a good feeling about today. Look how excited all the kids are.”

“Yeah”, he agreed, reluctantly. “Still, we should keep an eye out in case LaRusso tries something to make our dojo look bad, and… what the Hell is that?”

Another vehicle, a vintage Volkswagen van, appeared down the boulevard and stopped outside the strip mall. Several pairs of eyes turned towards it, for a very good reason: it was painted a bright shade of green, with flowers and rainbows everywhere, and even a unicorn on one side. It wouldn’t have looked out of place at Woodstock.

The doors of the van opened, and from it descended a young woman in a flowy caftan and a blond man with long hair and a beard. Behind them, looking mightily embarrassed, was none other than Bert.

“Good morning, everybody!” said the woman before going straight towards Kate and enveloping her in a hug. “Kate, it’s so wonderful to meet you in person at last! I’m Harmony, and this is Skylar. Sorry we’re late, we had to stop at the organic market to get a box of fruit for dessert. You know, I had a dream last night that this day was going to be wonderful… and my dreams are never wrong, I don’t want to brag but I’m a bit of a psychic.”

Without giving her time to answer, Harmony turned towards Johnny and went for another awkward hug; Kate had to cover her mouth with her hand to avoid laughing.

“We’re so happy to see you, Sensei Johnny! Well, of course Skylar and I had seen you already, we were at the tournament cheering for our Bertie… if you knew how much he admires you, you would faint!”

Beside his mother, Bert turned red as a beet and ran towards his friends. Johnny muttered a greeting while Harmony introduced her husband, who was also _very_ fond of giving hugs. Then they went to speak to Rosa, and Kate could finally laugh at Johnny’s bewildered face.

“Well, that was a surprise”, she said. “Who would have imagined that Bert was a flower child?”

“How the fuck are those people real?” wondered Johnny. “Is that van a time machine? They look like they live in 1968.”

“Well, New Wave hippies have existed in California for a very long time. And they seem to be really nice...”

“Yeah, if you ignore the hugs. Come on, that dude is even carrying a guitar”, he grumbled. “It beats me how a kid like Bert could come from those parents.”

“I don’t see why not, Bert is a really sweet boy.” Kate looked at her watch. “Well, now that all the children are here I think we should get going.”

“Right. Just a minute.” Johnny stood on the sidewalk and whistled to call his students’ attention. “Ears open, everybody! Today is a day for having fun, this is not a tournament. Don’t mess with the other kids too much… and don’t get into fights, especially no karate matches. It sucks, but those are the committee’s orders. Now, get your asses in the cars and let’s go!”

Some of the older kids groaned, starting with Hawk, but they knew better than to contradict their Sensei. Then, it took a while to organize the carpooling... because of course everybody wanted to ride in the Mystery Machine, like Johnny called it. In the end, Johnny took Miguel, Hawk, Moon and Rosa with him. The older Cobra girls all decided to go in Kate’s car; and Rani went with Bert, his parents and all the other children in Skylar’s van. They were quite crammed up, but Harmony had them rehearsing camp songs even before the engine started.

While Kate checked the rear mirror to see if the girls were wearing their safety belts, she wondered something.

“Keiko, isn’t your brother also going to the lake today? You could have gone with him and save yourself the detour.”

“Yes, but he’s going with his dojo… and his new friends”, said Keiko, scrunching her nose. “I mean, Sam and Demetri are all right, but it would still be weird; and I haven’t met Keene yet, but he’s not the biggest Cobra Kai fan; I’d better not share a car with him.”

Kate raised an eyebrow.

“Just remember what your Sensei said a moment ago: no silly fights, okay? If anybody from Miyagi-Do or from any other dojo gives you a hard time, come to me and I’ll talk to them. Understood?”

Keiko sighed, while the other three girls exchanged glances and nodded.

“The Miyagi kids won’t do anything”, added Aisha. “I talked to Sam yesterday, they don’t want any trouble today.”

“I hope you’re right”, retorted the Asian girl. “I’m not going to _start_ a fight… but I can finish it if I have to.”

“And I’m still dreadful at karate, so… I’m personally loving that ‘no fighting’ rule”, observed Sophie.

“That’s the spirit!” said Kate with a laugh. “The All Valley people have prepared lots of activities: there will be games, sports, a barbecue… there’s even boats at the lake, so you won’t even have time to think about karate. Are we ready, ladies?”

A loud chorus of enthusiastic voices answered her question; Kate turned on the ignition and followed the other two cars that were already on the way.

* * *

  
Daniel maneuvered his car between the white lines of the parking lot, checking that it was correctly aligned with them. So many years of organizing cars at LaRusso Auto had given him almost magical parking abilities… and also a slight obsession for placing each vehicle perfectly within the lines.

Riding shotgun next to him, Demetri was quiet; he’d spent most of the night rewatching old seasons of Game of Thrones, and he was falling asleep. In the back seat, Sam and Shiro were singing along to a J-Pop song.

Daniel took a glance at Sam and smiled. It looked like Shiro and her were making some progress… but he wasn’t going to meddle, not again; the last thing he wanted was another Kyler situation. Then he looked out of the window at the car next to his, and his smile faded. Robby had chosen to ride with Amanda and Anthony, instead of going with his Miyagi-Do classmates; he had been moody and cranky all week, and Daniel couldn’t understand why. He also could have sworn that the boy was avoiding him.

Once in the park, they took their things to the picnic area and claimed possession of one of the large picnic tables. There were many of them scattered on the grass, under the shade of the trees. Daniel looked around nervously, keeping an eye out for the inevitable crowd of black clad boys and girls that would appear in any moment. There were already a few groups of kids and adults in the area, but Cobra Kai hadn’t arrived yet. A good thing, because he wanted to address his students first.

“Gather round, guys”, he said. “There’s something I need to tell you before everybody gets here.”

The four teenagers stood obediently in front of him.

“As you know, this is the first time the new Miyagi-Do Karate is going to appear in public… apart from the tournament last May, of course”, he started, giving a nod in Robby’s direction. “That day was a very good presentation card, and it’s vital that we keep making a good impression today.”

Samantha, who was used to Daniel’s grand speeches, rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Dad, relax, it’s only an excursion! It won’t count for our college applications”, she joked. “We’re just going to spend the day with our friends, and maybe make some new ones.”

“And what about our enemies?” asked Robby in an almost inaudible whisper.

“Exactly”, continued Daniel. “Cobra Kai is going to be here. And they may try to get you four into trouble, so I don’t want you to engage with them in any way.”

“So… if that little Cobra Kai girl challenges me to a game of tag, do I have to say that my Dad doesn’t let me play with her?”

This time it was Daniel’s turn to roll his eyes. “You know perfectly well I wasn’t talking about that girl.”

Sam frowned and hit the ground with her foot. She had been expecting to talk to Miguel at some point of the day. The truth was, she really missed him… but it was going to be hard sneaking out of Daniel’s vigilant gaze. Stubbornly, she made another attempt.

“Maybe we can use this day to start again with Cobra Kai? The All Valley people said that today is not about karate, it’s about having fun all together.”

Amanda, who had been listening to her husband’s words, gave Daniel a meaningful nod, but he didn’t relent.

“Sorry, but I disagree. I want to avoid all confrontations today… and the best way to do that is to make sure that you don’t speak to any of the Cobra Kai more than necessary. Don’t do anything to provoke them; if they speak to you, be polite and try to end the conversation as soon as possible. There are plenty of young people here, from other dojos, that you can befriend without the need to look for a fight that we know is waiting to happen.”

“But, Dad…”

“I’ve made my point clear, Sam. Please, don’t make me repeat it.”

“Yes, _Sensei_ ”, answered Samantha, clearly bummed by the improvised new rule. Beside her, Shiro looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it. Amanda, on the other hand, crossed her arms and huffed; she would have a conversation about about it with Daniel later, but not in front of the kids.

Robby just kept staring at the tips of his sneakers in complete silence. He wasn’t really interested in socializing, or in having fun. He knew that Daniel planned to tell the Committee everything about his Dad and that… that prostitute he’d hired. There was a nagging feeling in his stomach, a feeling of dread that made him want to grab his things and run to North Hills, to Shannon’s empty apartment, where nobody could see how ashamed he was.

Right in that moment, a brightly colored van appeared through the park gates, and everybody turned around to look at it. A few seconds later, the doors opened, and from the van emerged a small army of Cobra kids…

An army in yellow.

They looked nothing like the intimidating line of fighters that had arrived to the tournament chanting the name of their dojo… in the light of day, in those yellow t-shirts, the infamous Cobra Kai looked just like children. And they were a noisy bunch, laughing and running while they unloaded the van. Suddenly, Daniel tensed up: Johnny had arrived too, and of course his tournament champion and that thug with the mohawk were with him.

Amanda gave her husband a nudge and a wink.

“I like the yellow t-shirts. It’s a happy color.”

“They still have that snake on them”, he observed.

Meanwhile, Robby had moved stealthily behind a tree. His hands were shaking, and no amount of slow breathing could help him control it. He didn’t want his Dad to see him, didn’t want to witness the scene that would surely take place when the All Valley people got there. Almost without thinking he grabbed his phone and started looking into bus routes for North Hills. If he was able to get his skateboard from the trunk of Amanda’s car and leave, nobody would notice until he was too far away to come back.

He had already started to walk towards the car, when…

“Robby, hi!”

The boy closed his eyes and sighed. That was one voice he didn’t mind hearing, but now his plan to sneak away unnoticed was useless.

“Hey, kiddo”, he said, smiling gently at Rani, who was running towards him; she ran straight into a hug, and Robby felt his heart break a little. His Dad was this girl’s hero… how devastated would she be when his lifestyle was exposed, when Cobra Kai was left without a Sensei and forced to close its doors? He looked at Daniel and Amanda, who seemed to be in the middle of an argument he was too far away to hear.

Rani tugged on Robby’s sleeve to get his attention, and the boy snapped out of his somber thoughts.

“Did you see the big van with the flowers? Bert’s Mom painted it. She also plays the guitar, and she’s promised to teach me a lot of songs today.”

“That’s really great”, he answered, trying to look happy. He was really fond of the little karate enthusiast, but… the way things were going, he probably would never see her again.

* * *

  
Johnny stared at the park gates without blinking, as if he wanted to melt the iron bars with his eyes. Kate and the girls hadn’t arrived, and he was starting to get nervous.

What if they’d had an accident? Getting lost was not an option because Kate had one of those navigator thingies in her phone… and the traffic had been good that morning. He checked his watch again and mentally kicked himself. No matter how slow time passed in his mind, in the real world Kate was barely five minutes late, and he was freaking out like a fucking schoolboy waiting for his crush to get out of class.

What really frustrated him was that he had to behave as if there was nothing between them. This was a public place; too many people, including his students… and Rattler, of course, the main reason for them to keep the secret. He wondered if the little girl suspected anything; she was a clever kid, she must have noticed. Or maybe not… Johnny’s only experience raising a child had been with Robby (although most of the actual raising had happened with he wasn’t there), and the boy always knew when Shannon had a new boyfriend. But, on the other hand, Shannon had never been known for her discretion.

Johnny wondered if he could find a moment to talk to Kate about it. They had been together for three weeks already, what was wrong with letting people know? Lost in thought, he turned towards the gates again, and he finally saw what he was looking for. Kate’s silver Toyota crossed the entrance, and parked next to the hippie van.

“Sorry we’re late”, she said, approaching Johnny with an apologetic smile. “There was an accident on Reseda Boulevard, and we had to take a detour.”

“It’s okay”, answered Johnny, visibly relieved. “The All Valley people haven’t arrived yet, and the party doesn’t start until those dudes say so, apparently.”

He surveyed the area, taking notice of the other people that were arriving. Most boys and girls were proudly displaying their dojo’s colors in their clothes: he saw many Topanga blue shirts, some Krunch people with their red logo… The All-Star boys even had baseball caps and jackets with the name of their dojo on them. Show-offs.

For a moment, Johnny felt nostalgic. He had been like that once, going with his friends to the beach, or to Golf N’ Stuff; all of them wearing the Cobra Kai patches on their jackets like badges of honor.

He made a mental note of giving Bobby Brown a call before they saw each other at the school reunion. He wanted to tell him about Kate… It would be the first time in years he would have some good news to tell his old friend, and he couldn’t lose that opportunity.

There was another side to the coin of Johnny’s glorious high school days, and he was standing on the other side of the clearing. Of course LaRusso had been the first to arrive, flaunting his handful of students and his holier-than-thou attitude in front of the crowd. Johnny intended to have a chat with his son before the ended, but that was going to be hard… he didn’t feel like talking to Robby in front of _him_.

Out of the corner of his eye he finally saw Robby, a few yards away from the rest of the Miyagi-Do clan. The boy was facing away from his group, crouching forward to talk to…

Johnny took a deep breath and grabbed Kate’s arm to get her attention.

* * *

  
Amanda noticed it first, of course. She had been paying special attention to Robby all week, and she’d realized that the boy was upset. That’s why she couldn’t help a relieved smile when she saw him talking to Rani: it was impossible to be sad when that sunny little girl was present.

She grabbed Daniel’s arm and advanced towards her.

“Rani! Do you remember me, sweetie?”

“Yes! Hi, Mrs. LaRusso”, answered the girl. “And hi, Sensei LaRusso.”

Daniel gave her an uncomfortable smile. He was starting to consider the idea of ordering a ‘Don’t Call Me Sensei’ t-shirt.

“Hello, Rani. I’m glad to see you… is your Mom here today?”

The little girl tilted her head to the side. “Yes; she came in our car with Aisha and several other girls… but I wanted to come in the big van with Bert’s parents because they’re very funny.”

Daniel nodded and looked across the clearing with inquisitive eyes, while Robby and Rani kept chatting about all the games they were planning to play later.

“That’s weird”, he whispered to Amanda. “There are Aisha and the other girls… but I don’t see any South Asian women in the Cobra Kai group. Or anywhere else, for that matter.”

“Well, there’s a very good way to find out without having to play James Bond”, she answered. “Rani, sweetheart, I’d like to say hi to your Mom. Can you tell me where she is?”

“Sure! She’s over there, talking to Sensei Lawrence.”

Rani pointed towards the place where most of the Cobra Kai had congregated… and for a few seconds there was no sound around her: both Daniel and Amanda were too surprised to speak. In fact, for many days after the lake excursion, Daniel could remember feeling so astonished that his brain stopped working. He had directed his attention to the place Rani was pointing at; and yes, indeed, there was someone standing next to Johnny, someone he already knew.

Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle (all three of them) fell into place.

It was the woman from the restaurant… the lawyer. And not only that, there was a hot pink trench coat hanging from her arm. A trench coat that he remembered perfectly well.

“That… that is…”

“Your Mom’s name is Kate, right, honey?” asked Amanda, reacting fast to cover for Daniel’s temporary paralysis.

“Yes; Katharine Williams. And I’m Rani Noelle Williams”, answered the little girl.

“Noelle! That’s a really pretty name… right, Daniel?”, said Amanda, elbowing her husband in the ribs to make him react. She also had to command most of her self-control to avoid laughing too much at him. The poor man had made a mountain of what was really a very simple thing… and she knew Daniel well enough to know he was going to beat himself up over that mistake for quite a while.

* * *

  
“Kate, I think you should see what’s happening over there.”

Kate looked at where Johnny was pointing, and saw her daughter in an animated conversation with Robby... and also with Daniel and Amanda. The girl stood right in the middle of the Miyagi-Do group, looking completely at ease, and Kate tried not to panic.

“Oh, no. I told her to stay with Rosa until I arrived! What is she doing over there?”

“It doesn’t surprise me”, said Johnny. “LaRusso already started his recruitment campaign when Rattler visited his dojo last week, and now he’s just buttering her up a bit more. Shit, first he takes Robby from me… and now he wants your kid too?”

Noticing that Johnny was getting too worked up, Kate tried to defuse the situation.

“It’s fine, I’m sure she just went over there to talk to Robby. And that’s a good thing, right? They got along really well when she visited his dojo. I’ll go get her.”

“No, I’ll do it.”

“Johnny, I’m not usually one to pull rank… but I’m her mother, it’s going to be weird if you go and I stay here”, she insisted. “Besides, we can’t spend the whole day here in the park and not say a word to those people. Remember what we said about being civil, at least we should say hi. A bit of public relations won’t hurt Cobra Kai, right?”

“Fine. We’ll go together”, Johnny said as he grabbed her hand. He did it on purpose, of course, to see if she complained… if she was embarrassed to be seen with him in front of all those people.

“I see today it’s a day for making statements”, observed Kate. She looked at their joined hands with surprise, but she didn’t let go.

“You want public relations, let’s have public relations”, he said with a cheeky grin. “Come on, let's get your kid back.”

* * *

  
“Amanda, please, stop laughing!” Daniel urged  his wife in a desperate whisper.

“The lawyer, the mother and the call girl turn out to be one and the same? You’re the only one here who doesn’t find it funny, babe.”

“I almost made the worst faux-pas of my life over a case of mistaken identity. It’s anything but funny!”

“Oh, it’s like one of those jokes! A mother, a lawyer and a floozy walk into a bar… and they order only one drink”, she laughed again. “Aren’t you glad now that you didn’t call Johnny out in public as soon as he arrived?”

“Please, oh, please... don’t mention that again.”

Robby observed Daniel and Amanda bickering in shouting whispers beside him, but he didn’t really pay attention to them after the first few seconds. It was enough to know that his Dad wasn’t the hopeless loser he had thought only a few days before… at least not that much of a loser to pay for sex; and to know that the mysterious girlfriend and the devoted mom of the girl in front of him were the same woman. A woman who looked like a perfectly normal and nice person... who, for some mysterious reason, had decided to date his Dad.

He saw Kate walk towards the Miyagi group. She was holding Johnny’s hand, and there was a tiny wrinkle of worry on her forehead.

* * *

  
Kate went straight towards her daughter, and stood before her with her arms crossed.

“Rani, I told you not to get away from Mrs. Diaz, remember? If you’re old enough to go in the big van with the other kids and not with me, you also have to be responsible enough to do what I tell you. This is a big park, there’s a lot of people here… you could get lost.”

The little girl lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, Mom”, she said, contrite, “I just wanted to see my friend Robby. I won’t get away again.”

“It’s okay this time. But if you do it again I’ll have to ground you, understood? Always stay with the Cobra Kai group unless I or Sensei Lawrence give you permission."·

“Yes, Mom.”

“It wasn’t her fault”, Robby intevened. “I should have realized she was alone and taken her back to her friends.”

Kate turned to the boy and smiled.

“It’s very sweet of you to try and take the blame; but you’re not responsible for her, and she knows she should have waited for me.”

Rani looked at the boy and nodded, admitting that her mother was right, and Kate decided that it was time for some introductions.

“So… you must be Robby. Hi.”

“And you must be Kate”, said the boy, flashing her a wide smile. “Rani says that you’re the best Mom in the world.”

“That’s very high praise to live up to”, she laughed. “And Rani, in turn, is a very good daughter… except when she thinks she’s eighteen instead of eight and she feels the need to be independent, like today.”

Robby turned to Johnny next, and there was a short but uncomfortable silence before he spoke.

“Hey, Dad. I’m glad to see you.”

“Hi, Robby”, he answered with an awkward smile. There weren’t many people in the world who admitted being glad to see Johnny; his son had never been one of them before. He was deciding if he should try hugging the boy or not, when a startled voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Sensei Lawrence is your Dad?”

It was Rani, of course, staring at Robby with her mouth agape as if he had suddenly transformed into a superhero.

“That is so cool!” she exclaimed. “But why didn’t you tell me? Why doesn’t anybody tell me _anything_?”

Kate couldn’t help laughing, and that was the moment Amanda chose to approach her.

“It’s so great to see you again!” she said, looking genuinely happy. “The other day I thought of calling your for lunch, since you work so close to the dealership… but I don’t have your number, and I felt silly calling your office.”

“Oh, nonsense”, answered Kate, leaning in to kiss Amanda’s cheek. “We absolutely need to have lunch together. Especially now that you’ve met this little earthquake that I call my daughter.”

Rani beamed, clearly proud of the epithet.

While this friendly greeting took place, Daniel appeared behind Amanda. He’d heard the whole exchange, of course; and while he thought Rani was a brilliant kid, and he had nothing bad to say about Kate… there was someone else on the scene whose presence irked him to no end.

“Johnny”, he said, in a tone that tried to be neutral but came out snarky.

The other man acknowledged him with a curt nod.

“LaRusso”, he answered, holding Daniel’s gaze. “I was surprised to get an invitation to your little outing.”

“I wasn’t the one who sent them… it was the Sports Committee’s idea. Believe me, I’m as _happy_ to see you as you are to see me”, he said with a smirk.

Amanda roller her eyes and stomped her foot, exactly like Samantha had done a few minutes before.

“I believe the ‘no fighting today rule’ also applies to senseis, right?” she threw a hard look at the two men, sho stood opposite each other without moving. “You better think about the example you want to give your respective students… but that’s up to both of you, of course. No one else.”

Seeing that trying to intervene was a lost cause, Amanda turned to Kate and Rani again.

“So, Rani… there are a lot of activities planned for today; have you thought of what you want to do?”

“Yes! Robby is going to teach me how to skate.”

“I’ll be careful, Kate, I promise”, said the boy before Kate could react.

“And I want to swim in the lake, too!” continued Rani.

“Remember that you’re only allowed to swim if I’m with you, okay?” reminded Kate. “If you pretend to fall into the water like you did last week at Uncle Kevin’s pool, there will be no skateboarding lessons. Do you hear that, Miss Rani?”

The girl smiled and nodded, at the same time that the sound of voices in the clearing raised its volume.

The reason for it was that an elegant black car had just crossed the park gate and, disregarding the parking space, advanced almost to the line of trees. The All Valley Committee had arrived, and all the kids cheered when they saw them. Noticing that Kate and Johnny were distracted by the commotion, Amanda pulled her husband aside.

“Honey, let me see your wallet.”

“My wallet?” he asked, dumbfounded. “What for? Did you leave your purse at home?”

Amanda gave Daniel her sweetest smile.

“Ah, I see you’ve forgotten about that little bet we made a few weeks ago… the one where I told you Jonny would bring Kate as his date today.”

Daniel finally remembered what she was talking about, and he made a face.

“Really, Amanda? Now?”

“Now is as good a moment as any other”, she answered, extending her hand. “Pay up, my love.”

With a heavy sigh, he slid a twenty into Amanda’s hand, pouting. The worst part wasn’t the money, of course.. it was the smug expression of triumph on her face. That _really_ hurt.

Daniel stood with his hands in his pockets while Amanda resumed her conversation with Kate. He suspected that he was going to have to tolerate Johnny’s presence for the rest of the excursion… and how could he not, if his girlfriend and her little girl were both so fond of Amanda and Robby?

Letting out a pitiful sigh, he gazed at the lake, wishing that he could just grab a boat, row into the distance and get lost for the rest of the excursion.

It was going to be a very long day.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what do you think of Harmony and Skylar? They're that kind of parents who make embarrassing their kids into a science... poor Bert.


	26. Blunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When teenagers meet, sparks fly... sometimes the good kind of sparks, others not so much. Meanwhile, Daniel misreads a situation once more, and finds himself saying the wrong thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, dear readers! I had to reorganize the scenes for this arc, and now it's going to span five chapters instead of four. I'm not 100% happy with it because now some of the chapter breaks happen in weird places, but it was the only way to keep the chapters readable (and by that I mean shorter than 6000 words). I'm already working on chapter 27, so the next update will arrive soon.

CHAPTER 26. BLUNDER

“...and it’s an honor for us to welcome all of you to this outing, that we hope will be the first of many in the years to come…”

There was a sizeable crowd congregated around the All Valley Committee members (all five, including Daniel). A crowd that had been listening to one of them for more than ten minutes, rambling non-stop about sports, and companionship, and fair play, and giving young people their space, and… several other tedious topics, one after another.

A couple of mothers sighed; many kids had started rolling their eyes, and a few of the older teenagers were already trying to sneak away from the circle.

“Ugh, it’s like that pansy’s speech at the tournament all over again”, complained Johnny in a whisper that only Kate could hear.

She gave him an encouraging smile right at the moment when the only woman in the Committee managed to nudge her colleague away and take center stage.

“Thank you so much for your words, George!” she said, in a tone that implied that the children were not the only ones getting bored. But, before joining the others, the man still had something else to say.

“Oh, I almost forgot! Daniel, what was that very important thing you had to tell us today?” he said, passing him the megaphone.

Daniel blushed to the roots of his hair. He had asked George to have a word _in private_ with the rest of the Committee, something the man had forgotten or misunderstood. Now he had to speak in front of a dozen Senseis and a hundred other people... and, since it had been proved that Johnny’s reputation was spotless (or, at least, reasonably clean), he now found himself with nothing to say.

“Ah… yes, thank you. Er… well, the thing is…” after a few seconds he finally got an inspiration, and he promptly followed it. “It’s about that idea we’ve been considering, the under-14 tournament. I know I’ve always opposed it in the past, but… well, I’ve given it some thought and I’ve decided to agree with the rest of you. I also think the first edition should take place next December, in the spot where the old tournament used to be.”

There was a wave of pleased whispers along the crowd. Mostly from the younger kids, who had zero chances to win the regular competition and now saw an opportunity to show their talent. Several moms in the group looked very pleased too: a woman in a blue t-shirt who was standing next to Kate cheered so loud that she almost had to cover her ears.

“I knew all that convincing hadn’t been in vain! Now that it’s unanimous, we can officially start organizing the under-14 tournament”, agreed George, giving Daniel a friendly pat on the back. “With that out of the way, Sue will now inform you of all the fun things we have planned for today.”

The aforementioned Sue, grateful to have a chance to speak at last, smiled nervously at the crowd.

“Good morning, everybody”, she started. “Before I start listing all the activities, allow me to say that we’re all very pleased that so many of you had come to share this day.”

The kids (and most of the adults) around Sue looked at her in silence, fearing a repeat of George’s long and boring speech.

“I don’t want the day to start without an official ‘welcome back’ to the two dojos that returned to the competition last May, after more than thirty years of absence.”

Some polite clapping was the response, accompanied with a cheer from the Cobra Kai students.

“One more thing: you all know that the purpose of the All Valley Committee, and the Los Angeles Sports Council, is to make the Valley a a place where young people of every age, race and orientation can enjoy sports together. That’s why today I want to give a special commendation to two-time All Valley champion Johnny Lawrence, from Cobra Kai, for the great strides he’s taken towards the integration of LGBTQ youth in his dojo.”

The clapping became louder this time, and a very surprised Johnny felt his cheeks reddening against his will. Beside him, Grace and Sophie looked at each other and held hands, positively beaming. Grace, of course, was wearing her jacket covered in rainbow patches over her Cobra Kai t-shirt. Apparently the news of a lesbian couple in their dojo had spread faster than anyone had imagined.

A bit further away, Samantha pouted and leaned to whisper in Shiro’s ear.

“That’s not fair! We also have ‘LGBTQ youth’ at Miyagi-Do.”

The boy smiled and shrugged. “Yes, but in my case it’s a secret, Sam. Those girls are openly out, and that’s really brave of them.”

When the applause subsided and Sue started listing the times and places of the different games and activities, Johnny took Kate aside.

“I know what the L and the G mean, and I’m more or less sure about the B… but what the fuck are those other letters?” he whispered to her.

“I’ll tell you later. If anyone mentions it to you, just nod and smile.”

“By the way… how do those people suddenly know that I won the All Valley twice? No one gave a shit about that last May.”

Kate winked at him, looking completely innocent.

“Well, Aisha told me how your past triumphs had been overlooked at the tournament, so… I gave Sue a call the other day and had a little chat with her. Lovely woman.”

“You’re an evil genius”, Johnny chuckled.

“Oh, that’s nothing! She was super nice to me as soon as I mentioned that my daughter went to Cobra Kai. I think you got yourself a fan, mister.”

“Well, tough luck, Committee Lady Sue. No matter how nice you are… I’m already taken.”

* * *

  
After the speeches ended, everybody spread around the park. By pure chance (or maybe not), the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do groups had ended up stationed next to each other… to Rani’s delight, of course. This time she did ask Kate for permission before running to see her friend again, followed by her mother and Johnny… who had come to terms with the fact that, if he wanted to see Robby, enduring the sight of LaRusso’s face was the price he had to pay.

Meanwhile, Keiko gazed across the clearing and patted Miguel on the shoulder.

“I should go and say hi to my brother. Poor Shiro, he must be cursing the day he joined that sneeze of a dojo… Come with me, Mig, your girl is also there.”

“Sam hasn’t been my girl for months”, he said, dumbfounded. Why was Keiko teasing him like that? Didn’t she know that Sam had been fooling around with her brother? “Besides, her Dad hates my guts, I’m not going anywhere near him.”

“Oh, come on, don’t chicken out like that”, she insisted. “Her Dad won’t do anything to your guts in front of so many people. Bert, you joining us?”

“Sure! Anything to get away from my parents”, said the younger boy, pointing to the circle of children and adults congregated around Skylar and his guitar. “They’re going to start singing Kumbaya any second. I feel it.”

The kids laughed as they approached the Miyagi group. Sam smiled at Miguel, looking like she was about to say something… but she didn’t, and in the end it was Shiro who greeted the newcomers.

“Hey, here’s my favorite sister!” he said, hugging her.

“I’m your _only_ sister, you doofus”, she quipped.

“I think you already know all my classmates… no, sorry, almost all of them”, Shiro corrected himself, making a gesture towards Robby. “Keiko, this is Robby Keene. Robby, my sister Keiko.”

The boy stared at her, then at her Cobra Kai t-shirt, and finally he held her gaze again.

“You must be the girl who was so contrary that she refused to join Miyagi-Do just to spite her brother”, he said, half joking.

“And you must be the prodigy white boy who rode into the tournament like a masked knight and got to the finals surprising everyone.”

Robby flashed her a quick smile, and one of his green eyes twinkled in a quick wink. “So, you’ve heard of me… Would you like to know how I did it?”

“Not really”, she answered in a dismissive tone. “I’d just like to know if it was beginner’s luck.”

Robby’s smile faded. “You think you’re better than me at karate because you’re Japanese?”

“The reason I think I’m better than you is because I _am_ better than you. Being Japanese is just an added coolness factor. But you sound like you’re eager to prove yourself… prodigy.” She spat the word in a calm and icy tone, like an insult.

Robby took a step towards her, trying very hard not to clench his fists and assume a fighting position. “I can show you anywhere, any time.”

“No sparring today, Miss Yashida. Remember the rules”, reminded Johnny. He and the other adults had approached the two teenagers as soon as they heard the raised voices. It was in everybody’s interest to avoid a confrontation, and Johnny knew his son had a quick temper… inherited from him, although probably Shannon had had some part in it too.

“Yes, Sensei”, she said in a firm tone. “Sorry, masked knight, let’s leave it for another day.”

“No problem”, the boy hissed. “I can wait until the next tournament to kick your ass, there’s no hurry.”

“Oh, we’ll see about that.”

“Fine!”

“Good!”

“Okay, that is enough”, interrupted Daniel in a stern voice. “Robby, remember what I told you this morning about interacting with the Cobra Kai students. Stop teasing each other this instant… in fact, stop talking to each other altogether, understood?”

Robby bit his lip, struggling between his desire to follow the rules and his natural inclination to seek out a fight. Then he lowered his head and nodded. Opposite him, Keiko looked like she was about to try and say the last word, but a sharp look from her brother silenced her too.

In the end, the uncomfortable absence of sound was broken by a little voice.

“Robby’s not allowed to speak with me?”

Rani sounded more surprised than upset, and Daniel could barely stifle a curse word. He had completely forgotten there was a child present… a child that could potentially start crying and make him look like a heartless monster. He crouched in front of the little girl, thinking fast of a way to fix what he’d just said, but Kate was faster than him.

“Rani… do you remember what I told you the other day about those grown-up things that are hard to understand sometimes?” she said, inserting herself between her daughter and Daniel.

The girl knotted her brow and nodded.

“Well, this is one of those things. Nobody is forbidding _you_ to do anything, okay? You can talk to anybody you want. The only super important rule for today is that you can’t go exploring around the park without an adult.”

“But Sensei LaRusso is angry. Did I do anything wrong?”

“Sensei LaRusso is having a bad day”, Kate said, throwing Daniel a look that could have frozen molten lava. “And when grown-ups have bad days, they say things they don’t mean. Now… I need you and Bert to go to Mrs. Diaz and tell her to give you a box of the brownies I baked yesterday. Can you do that for me, please? Get the box and bring it here.”

“Yes, Mom”, Rani answered, still looking suspicious.

“Yes, Miss Kate”, added Bert, grabbing Rani’s hand and heading towards the place where Rosa was organizing the food (and making sure that Johnny’s students didn’t eat it all).

Kate watched the kids leave without even looking at Daniel; she had the ability to ignore people in a very obvious way. Then she turned to Johnny, who had observed the full exchange without saying a word.

“Johnny… Why are some of the kids calling me _Miss Kate_ all of a sudden?”

“Because I told them to.”

“It makes me sound like a schoolteacher!”

“It was either that or Miss Williams. They have to show you some respect.”

That, at last, made her crack a smile. “You can be so Victorian sometimes.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a compliment, Lawrence.”

In a moment, Bert and Rani were back, bringing a box with them.

“A token of peace, if you wish”, said Kate, giving it to Amanda. “My famous salted caramel brownies.”

Amanda’s face brightened.

“Don’t worry, they’re not poisoned”, Kate joked.

“Oh, I don’t care if they are”, said Amanda. “You had me at ‘salted caramel’. How many of these did you make, exactly? I think I’m going to defect to Cobra Kai for one day…”

“Four batches. Hurry up, if I know Johnny’s students, they will all be gone before lunchtime… but don’t worry, I’ll give you the recipe.”

“You clearly haven’t seen me in a kitchen. The last time I used my oven I made the fire alarm go off”, said Amanda, taking a bite of one of the chocolate squares. “Oh, my God! These are so good… I’m definitely going to sneak over and steal the rest of them.”

“I wouldn’t”, laughed Kate. “Miguel’s grandmother is watching over the food like a hawk. Mrs. Rosa may be tiny, but nothing gets past her!”

At the mention of Miguel’s name, Sam decided to try a discrete approach to him. During the whole exchange between Robby and Keiko, the boy had been half-hiding behind a tree; she couldn’t blame him, knowing how both Robby and her Dad felt about him.

“Hey”, she said in a low voice.

“Hi”, answered Miguel, looking a bit distracted.

“I was thinking… maybe later when the games start we could… I don’t know, have a chat. If that’s okay with you?”

“You’re with your family, Sam. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble. Besides, we’ll have our hands full making sure those two don’t kill each other today”, he whispered looking at Keiko and Robby, who had stopped arguing only to enter a contest of death stares.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Just when your Sensei and my Dad were signing a truce, and the idiots start… Hey, who are those?”

She pointed at the four people walking towards them: two boys, a girl, and a bald middle-aged man with a friendly face. All the kids wore t-shirts with the Krunch Karate logo on them.

“Hi! You’re Miguel Diaz, right?” asked the taller boy, who appeared to be the leader of the delegation.

“Ah… yes. Hi”, he answered cautiously. Despite all the cheering when he’d won the tournament, he still wasn’t sure how the people from the other dojos felt about him. Or, to be more precise, about Cobra Kai.

The boy shook his hand eagerly. “My name is Brian, these are Maria and DeShawn... and our Sensei, Mr. Hastings. From Krunch, as you may have noticed.”

“Nice to meet you”, answered Miguel, still a bit wary. “These are Keiko, Bert… and the tiny one over there is Rattler.”

The rest of the group introduced themselves to the Krunch visitors.

“Hi, everybody”, said Brian, waving politely. “So, Miguel… the Topanga guys just had the idea of organizing teams for a softball game. We’re a small dojo, and we were wondering if you and some of your Cobra Kai friends would want to team up with us. If you’re half as fierce on the field as on the mat, this can be a lot of fun!”

“We’re huge fans of yours, by the way”, cooed the girl, Maria, making her lashes flutter. She had smooth black hair down to her waist, hair that waved in the morning breeze… and the t-shirt with the name of her dojo on it was unexpectedly tight. Miguel couldn’t help staring at her like an idiot.

Samantha also found herself staring. Staring at the stupid Krunch girl with her stupid padded bra and her even more stupid red nails. Who the Hell painted her nails red for a day in the park?

“Thanks! That... that sounds great”, said Miguel, overwhelmed by all the praise. “I mean, I have to talk to the others first, but I’m sure they’ll say yes. That’s what we’re here for, right? Meeting new people.”

Beside him, Keiko and Bert nodded with enthusiasm.

“Splendid!” said the Krunch boy. “We’ll see you all by the pier in half an hour. It’s so great to finally meet you, man”, he said, going for another friendly handshake.

“Well, looks like we’re going to make a lot of friends today”, Keiko singsonged while the Krunch kids and their teacher walked away. “Especially you, stud.”

Miguel bit her lip and willed himself not to blush. “Yeah… Let’s go tell Aisha and the others. Rattler, do you want to come with us?”

“Yes, but I don’t know how to play softball”, said Rani, with a little wrinkle of concern forming on her forehead.

“Don’t worry, we’ll teach you”, said Keiko.

“Sensei, can I go with them?” asked the girl.

“We’re not at the dojo, Rattler”, answered Johnny in the softest tone he could muster. “Ask your mother.”

Rani looked at Kate with pleading eyes, and Keiko grabbed the little girl’s hand. “Let her come, Kate; please… I promise I won’t let her out of my sight.”

“Fine. Like you said, it’s a day for making friends in other dojos”, she said in a pointed tone. “Rani, you have to do everything Keiko tells you, okay? And don’t wander away from her and Miguel, not for one second.”

One of Rani’s braids had come undone, like they always did because the little girl fidgeted with her hair all the time, and Kate leaned down to fix it.

She noticed Daniel staring fixedly at her, and she quickly checked her clothes for a stain. But no, her shirt was clean; the only thing out of place was a tiny red mark on her chest, a reminder of that night at Johnny’s apartment a week before… But it was barely visible, anyway. When she looked again, Daniel had turned around, and she decided it had been a coincidence.

Kate tied the yellow ribbon around the end of her daughter’s braid and stood up.

“Here you go. Try not to unbraid it again, okay? Or your hair will get all tangled, and then it’s complaints galore when I brush it at home.”

“Yes, Mom. Pinky promise.”

Kate smiled and nodded. As the kids left, she and Johnny noticed the Krunch sensei walking back towards them.

“Hey, Lawrence! Damn, I almost forgot. We need some people to man the barbecues, are you game?” he asked.

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Can you help us unload the coal from my car? We’ll get the fires started, that’s all for now.”

Johnny looked at Kate to make sure she didn’t mind, but she smiled at him and gave him a playful push.

“Go have fun playing with fire. I promised Harmony I’d join her Kundalini yoga class at noon, and I don’t think you want to come with me.”

“Yeah, not my thing.” He then looked at Daniel, not sure of how to say it… he wanted to sound nice, but not _too_ nice. “So, LaRusso… Robby says you know your way around a barbecue. Interested?”

Daniel took a deep breath. He glanced at Kate, and Amanda… and then at Johnny again.

“Maybe later.”

“Suit yourself.”

Johnny gave Kate a half-smile and left with Hastings. He wasn’t entirely comfortable being away from her, but… the day had barely started, they would have time to be together.

At least, as ‘together’ as they could, considering that public displays of affection were still banned between them. That was something else they needed to discuss…

If he managed to get his girlfriend alone for five minutes.

* * *

  
After Johnny disappeared from sight, Kate realized she was alone in what could be considered hostile territory. Well, maybe not ‘hostile’... but not completely friendly, either. The Miyagi-Do students had taken their leave, joining a group of boys and girls that were going to try the boats on the lake, so she was left with Daniel, Amanda… and Johnny’s son, who had chosen to stay saying that he didn’t like boats.

Amanda was nice, as always, but Kate still didn’t know what to make of her husband... And she had absolutely no idea how to talk to Robby. Teenagers were an undiscovered country for her, especially this moody teenager who wasn’t very fond of his own father and seemed to hate anybody who had anything to do with Cobra Kai. On the other hand, Rani liked him; and he looked like a good boy, apart from his quick temper, but Kate had decided not to force an awkward conversation until she knew more about him.

She was about to think of a polite excuse and leave, when Daniel took a step towards her.

“Kate, are you… are you alright?” he inquired in a worried tone.

She frowned. It was a weird question to ask, especially because she had been all smiles since she had arrived… but it was probably just a conversation starter.

“Perfectly fine”, she said, shrugging. “Why do you ask?”

“Look, we barely know each other, but I want you to know that… that you have our support, and our help… I mean, if you _need_ any help. Amanda and I are here for you.”

Kate looked at Daniel and blinked. Twice. If this was the man’s idea of a casual conversation with an almost stranger, no wonder Johnny didn’t like him too much.

“Sorry, but… I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about”, she said, throwing a sideways glance at Amanda and Robby to see if they could give her a clue. But no, both of them looked equally lost.

The man in front of her let out a sigh.

“Kate, you don’t have to pretend everything is fine. You are among friends here, and…” he stopped, struggling to find the right words. “What I really want to say is that I understand you trying to protect him.”

Another string of words that made no sense, and Kate’s patience was growing thin. What exactly was she protecting Johnny from, and what did it have to do with needing help?

“Daniel, whatever it is you think Johnny has done this time… I don’t have time to stand here and play riddles. So, either you say it upfront, or I’m going to go now. Okay?”

She was about to turn around and leave when Daniel spoke again; slowly, as if the words were painful to pronounce.

“You have a… I mean… there is a…”

“In complete sentences. Please.”

Daniel put his hands in his pockets, took them out again, fidgeted with the cuff of his shirt, and finally…

“You have a bruise.”

Kate felt her cheeks burn and the air escape from her lungs. She almost started laughing; it was so absurd, and at the same time so typical of this man to think the worst of his childhood enemy, that he was even insinuating that Johnny could…

Instinctively, she raised a hand to her chest, where the tiny purple spot peeked above the neckline of her shirt.

“No”, was her answer. It was all her brain could think of, a giant ‘no’ written in capital letters.

Daniel gave her a nervous smile. Beside him, Amanda looked extremely confused. Robby, on the other hand, still hadn’t reacted; he stared fixedly at Kate, as if he was trying to read her mind.

“Look, I saw it when you leaned down to fix Rani’s hair”, insisted Daniel. “I didn’t _want_ to see it… of course, nobody wants… I mean, I wasn’t looking. But I saw it.”

“You’re wrong”, she stated in a firm voice. “And you’re going to have to take my word for it, because I’m not in the mood for giving explanations.”

For a moment it looked like Daniel was about to let the matter rest, but then he shook his head.

“No, Kate. I understand that maybe I’m not the right person to offer you help, but you should at least consider…”

“You are so spectacularly wrong that you have no idea how much”, she interrupted him. “But I don’t want to discuss this here, not in front of Robby, so… please, let’s change the topic now. Or talk about it somewhere else, if it’s absolutely necessary.”

Robby arched an eyebrow. This attitude was new to him; usually the adults in his life didn’t refrain from discussing unpleasant things for his benefit.

“Robby has a right to know.”

Kate rubbed her eyes and counted to five before answering. It was either that or start screaming, and she didn’t like raising her voice.

“Okay”, she said, throwing her hands in the air. “You win, Daniel. You want an explanation? Here it comes.”

Daniel frowned. He had expected denial (and he got it), tears (no sign of them so far)... and at least some kind of thanks, or an emotional response for his offer of help. But this stubborn reaction was incomprehensible.

Kate, on her part, willed herself to speak calmly, without losing her cool. It wasn’t worth getting angry with this man for a silly misunderstanding… no matter how misguided.

“I told you to let it go, twice, and you didn’t. And, since you insist on discussing my private life in a public park, and in front of a teenager, I’ll let you know that what you saw is not a bruise.”

“Then what…?”

“It’s a bite mark.”

A heavy silence fell on the whole scene, broken after a few seconds by a strangled sound coming from where Robby was standing. Kate looked at the boy and saw that he was trying to stifle a nervous laugh. She didn’t envy him; teenagers usually liked to pretend that their parents (or everybody’s parents) didn’t have a sex life at all.

She also felt sorry for Amanda, who had covered her eyes with her hand, probably wanting to be anywhere else.

Then she turned towards Daniel again; the man was staring at the ground, and he had gone deathly pale… so pale that he even looked greenish.

“Do you really think I would put my daughter in danger by dating a violent man? That I would expose her to… to whatever you thought was happening? God, you must think I’m a dreadful mother.”

“I’m sorry”, he blurted. “I thought…”

Kate waved a hand to make him stop apologizing.

“I know what you are”, she said with a sad smile. “You’re one of those people who just can’t leave things alone until everything is like they want it to be. You think every wrong can be righted… by you.”

_You couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you, little twerp?_

_Not everybody needs your help, Daniel. Not everybody needs to be rescued._

Johnny’s words, many years before. Amanda’s words, not so long ago. Now they resonated in Daniel’s mind once and again, like a curse. He opened his mouth to speak, to make the words in nis head go away, but Kate was faster.

“That’s why you do things like raising the rent on fifteen people just to get rid of one of them. You’re so focused on doing the right thing that you forget about the consequences.”

“I was trying to help”, he said in a tired voice.

“I know. That’s why I’m still here talking to you instead of storming out in a furious rage.” She looked away, at the barbecue area in the distance, where Johnny and a couple more men were busy getting things ready. “You know, maybe you should follow your own rule and not speak to me again; I’m enough of a Cobra Kai to be considered a subversive element. By the way, are you aware that with that stupid rule of yours you’ve also forbidden Shiro from talking to his own sister? And your daughter from hanging out with Aisha and the other girls?”

“Yes… I mean, no, I… I didn’t realize that until after I’d said it.”

“Of course”, she sighed. “Well, I guess that’s all then. Unless you have any other accusation you want to throw at the wall, to see if it sticks. Goodbye.”

Without leaving him or Amanda time to answer, she turned on her heels and left.

“You know, you just lost an ally there”,  said Amanda, with her arms crossed.

“An ally? What are you talking about?”

“Sam was chatting with Aisha last night, and she told me a couple of very interesting things. Apparently yesterday Johnny gave the Cobra Kai kids a pep talk telling them to behave today, or else; that happened five minutes after Kate went to his office to have a private conversation with him. And those yellow, non-threatening t-shirts instead of the scary black ones? She had them made. Aisha even says that Johnny tries not to swear in front of Rani… Guess who is responsible for that, too. And you just alienated her. Great job!”

Amanda gave Daniel a little pat on the back, and started walking away too.

“Come on, Amanda… where are you going?”

“To the lake. I promised Anthony I’d go watch him row a boat… and this is the first time in weeks he’s shown any interest in doing something that looks like exercise, so I’m going to take some pictures for posterity”, she said coldly, whipping out her phone. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

Neither of them realized that Robby had sneaked away while they talked. Conjugal disputes were kind of triggering for the boy, and he had endured more than enough drama for one day.

After checking that nobody had seen him leave, he headed towards a nearby copse, following Kate’s steps; when he finally saw her, he hesitated before making his presence known... His Dad’s girlfriend looked more sad than angry, but Robby kept his distance anyway. He couldn’t really blame her if she told him to get lost. But he had to try.

“Hey, Kate!” he called. “Wait, please!”

 


	27. Matchmaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robby has a chat with his Dad’s girlfriend. The Cobra Kai girls put their heads together and start their own conspiracy.

CHAPTER 27. MATCHMAKING

“Hey, Kate! Wait, please.”

Kate turned around and stared at Robby. The boy’s eyes were green instead of blue, but she would recognize that apologetic look anywhere.

_Damn the Lawrence men and their puppy eyes._

Still distraught by her previous conversation with Daniel, she realized she had no clue about what Robby thought of her. The kid’s mother had been an important part of Johnny’s life once; he had every right to resent Kate. For all he knew, she was just a random woman who had appeared in his Dad’s life without warning… it would be logical for him to feel threatened.

Well, time to find out.

“Hi, Robby”, she said, trying to smile despite her nerves. “Did your Sensei send you to apologize for him? I appreciate it, but you really don’t have to.”

The boy jutted his chin up.

“Mr. LaRusso may be my boss, but that doesn’t mean I’m his errand boy”, he said, prideful. “He doesn’t know I followed you here; I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay”, she said, even more puzzled now. “I’m all ears.”

The boy looked at Kate, then at the ground, and finally at her again.

“You’re not like I expected”, he blurted out.

“Ah. Is that a good or a bad thing?”

The question made him smile. “Good, I think. I mean… When my Dad said he had a girlfriend I thought you’d be… oh, shit, I don’t know how to say it and not make it sound rude.”

“I can stand rude, as long as it’s sincere”, she assured him. “Give it to me.”

“I thought you’d be a trashy woman he’d met at a bar.”

He had told Kate the absolute truth: that what he had expected was, in a way, a carbon copy of Shannon. Robby closed his eyes, expecting an offended reaction from Kate… but instead, he heard a soft laugh.

“Well, I’ve never been sure about the definition of ‘trashy’, so you never know. If you asked some of the Encino Hills moms who are here today, I’m sure a few of them would think I’m trash, just for living in the wrong neighborhood. The second part is wrong, though: we met at the dojo, two months ago. I took Rani there to see if there was room for her in Cobra Kai… that’s how it started.”

At the mention of the little girl’s name, Robby’s face lightened up.

“I bet my Dad was really impressed with Rani. The day she visited Miyagi-Do, she caused a revolution.”

“Well, I don’t want her to take karate too seriously”, observed Kate. “To her, it’s just a game… and that’s how it should be for now. Rani is still too young for tournaments and rivalries; she’s just doing something she loves and having fun with it.”

“While the rest of us are at war.”

Robby was looking down again, with his hands in his pockets. Kate felt sorry for him… but she couldn’t just hug him and say ‘there, there’. Things were too complicated, more than they should be. She was a virtual stranger. And the conflict wasn’t just about karate.

She put a tentative hand on Robby’s shoulder, relieved that he didn’t flinch or take a step back.

“I wish I could help with that, but it’s not my place. The only thing I can do is try not to make things worse… and I almost did a moment ago; I got your father accused of something he didn’t do.”

The boy frowned, but before he could say anything Kate continued.

“Look, I’m not going to pretend he is a perfect man”, she stated in a serious tone. “I know he’s disappointed you many times, Robby… and maybe that’s something that can never be fixed. But I also know he’s not a monster. And he’s really trying to do things right this time, even if it doesn’t work out. If there’s one thing I’m sure about your father, is that his heart is in the right place.”

Kate sighed, wondering if it was a good idea to talk so freely about Johnny with his practically estranged son… but her gut was telling her it was worth a try.

Robby, on the other hand, had never heard anyone talking about his Dad in such a positive light. He also wasn’t sure what this pretty, nice, _normal_ lady had seen in Johnny… but hey, people always said love was blind.

“I know he’s trying. It’s just that things are too fucked up… Sorry, I didn’t want to use that word. I mean…”

“Swearing doesn’t scare me either, Robby”, she said. “Unless it’s in front of Rani; I’d be thankful if you could tone it down when you teach her to skate today… if you still feel like it, of course. If not, I can tell her something came up, don’t worry. It’s not fair that you're burdened with an eight-year-old all afternoon instead of having fun with your friends.”

“No, of course I want to do it!” Robby replied eagerly. “I gave Rani my word. And it’s not the first time I teach someone, don’t worry.”

“You’ll be breaking your Sensei’s rules. I don’t want you to get in trouble for conniving with the enemy.”  Her tone was pointed, again, and her gaze hardened as she spoke.

Robby sighed and gave her a sad smile.

“Look, Kate... Mr. LaRusso is a good person.”

“I know he is. But he also behaved like a jerk today, and I’m not in the mood for listening to jerks.” She took a deep breath. “I thought all this was a good idea. I honestly believed that if we could bring the kids here, to a different environment, away from the dojos and the competition… I could even get those two talking. Silly me, always wanting to fix things; it was stupid.”

“No, I don’t think it was. I see people from every dojo in the Valley mixing up everywhere, everybody is making new friends.”

 _Everybody but me,_ he thought.

“What’s the use, if that man is going to be spreading lies about your father as soon as I turn my back on him?”

Seeing a chance to address the uncomfortable scene he’d witnessed before, Robby just went for it.

“I didn’t believe what Mr. LaRusso said about… about my Dad hitting you. It’s impossible.”

“How are you so sure?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “That man is your Sensei, don’t you trust him?”

“Yes. But I also trust what I know, and what I see. When Mr. LaRusso said you had a bruise you didn’t get afraid… you got angry. You’re not scared of my Dad, I can see that. Besides, he’s never hit me or my Mom, and that kind of thing doesn’t start happening out of the blue. He may be an idiot, but he’s not that kind of bastard.” He took a step closer, scrutinizing Kate’s face. “You really care about my Dad.”

It wasn’t a question. In fact, it was a slightly impertinent non-question, but she answered it anyway.

“Yes, Robby, I care about him. And it hurts me to hear certain things. Anyway, it’s all been cleared up now… But don’t tell your father anything about it, please, or he’s going to freak out and fight with your Sensei again. I’ve had enough drama for today, and it’s not even noon.” She looked down and adjusted her shirt, to make sure it was covering the purple mark. “And all of that just for… this. If there’s another gathering next year I hope it’s in the middle of Winter so I can wear a scarf.”

Robby nodded. Then he chuckled under his breath, as if he had just remembered something funny.

“What is it?” asked Kate, intrigued.

“Nothing. It’s just… I had a girlfriend last year, a girl from North Hills High. Before I quit school and started doing karate.”

“Okay. And…?”

“She called me ‘Nibbler’”, he admitted with a smug smile.

Kate pressed her lips together trying not to laugh. It didn’t seem right.

“Well, now you know where you got that from... you can blame genetics. And you better go back to the LaRussos now, Robby. I’m not technically a Cobra Kai, except by association, but I don’t want you to get fired for speaking to me.”

“Mr. LaRusso is not like that. He doesn’t control my life, I can speak to anyone I want.”

The rebellious spark in the boy’s eyes gave Kate an idea, and she decided to try her luck.

“Anyone? Including your father?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Then maybe you can do me a small favor and go talk to him”, she said, secretly happy of the way the conversation had redirected itself. “Even if it’s just for five minutes, even if it’s about the weather… He thinks about you, Robby, all the time. And I know it’s painful for him to see how far apart you’ve grown. He really misses you.”

She fidgeted with a strand of her hair, wondering if she’d said the right words.

“Shucks. I promised myself I wouldn’t meddle, and I’m doing exactly that. Sorry, Robby… It’s very arrogant of me to presume to know your father better than you do.”

“No, it’s okay. I mean… in a way, maybe you do know him better”, said the boy, hesitant. “I know he’s changed… or trying to change, at least. The last two times we saw each other we didn’t end up fighting. That’s something, right?”

He had picked up a fallen leaf and started tearing bits of it apart. After a few seconds, he seemed to reach a decision.

“I’ll talk to him after lunch, okay? Maybe… maybe if Rani wants I can keep teaching her how to skate on the weekends, if that’s okay with you. And if you’re there at the skate park, and my Dad is there too… We can keep talking, as long as it’s not about karate. Or about certain people.”

Kate let out a relieved sigh. “That’s a brilliant idea. Thank you, Robby.”

“No, Kate... thank _you_.”

“For what?” she shrugged. “I’ve done nothing more than making your father come here and getting him accused of things.”

“For caring about my Dad. He needs that.”

Robby took a little step forward, as if he was going for a hug… but he changed his mind and froze in mid-movement. The boy was getting too used to the LaRusso household, where they all hugged each other several times a day. He had decided he liked Kate… and he didn’t want to spoil things by weirding her out, so he just gave her a farewell smile and walked away. With a heavy sigh, Kate returned to the picnic area where the Cobra Kai had left their stuff. Harmony and Rosa were sitting in the shade, chatting with two karate moms from All-Star Karate, while Rani and a few other children played tag on the grass; Kate sat next to them, deep in thought.

Despite not being an expert in teenage psychology, she had learned many things about Johnny’s son from their short conversation. The boy had his loyalties torn in two, a bad situation when one was in the middle of a war… a war that had started before he was born, and had no end in sight so far.

As if Robby’s sadness had been contagious, she suddenly felt like crying.

* * *

  
While Robby was having his heart-to-heart with Kate, another secret meeting was taking place behind the tennis courts. Aisha and Grace sat on the grass, waiting, with an eye on the group of boys and girls that had congregated by the pier. They didn’t have to wait long before Keiko ran towards them, followed by Sophie.

“It’s about time!” Aisha scolded them. “We said we’d regroup here at eleven, and it’s eleven fifteen. Hey, wasn’t Rattler with you before?”

“Yes, but we left her with Mrs. Diaz. We need to discuss some things that don’t concern an eight-year-old”, answered Sophie, almost out of breath because of the running. “Tell them, Keiko.”

“It’s about our little matchmaking operation”, said the Asian girl in a conspiratory tone. “By the way… where’s Moon? She said she would be here too, and I haven’t seen her since we arrived.”

“She and Hawk said they were going for a walk, like an hour ago”, answered Aisha with a frown. “I don’t know what’s happening to Hawk lately… it’s like we don’t exist to him anymore. Yesterday at the dojo I heard him say that this excursion was a waste of time.”

“Anyway… we’ll have to make do without her, this is important”, said Keiko, sitting on the ground beside her friends.

Grace started the meeting by taking a piece of paper out of her pocket.

“Well, the first bit of good news is that I already got two phone numbers for our broken-hearted champion: one is a girl from All-Star, and the other one the sister of a Topanga guy. Am I good, or am I good?”

“You’re the best!” laughed Sophie, eager to praise her girlfriend. “Was it hard to get them?”

“Nah, not much. It helps when the boy we’re trying to promote is the current All Valley champion; Aisha has been singing Miguel’s virtues to everybody who listened… She’s spread the rumor that he’s practically a saint, on the verge of depression since he broke up with Sam LaRusso… and apparently straight girls love that”, Grace said, scrunching her nose.

“Well, he _does_ have a broken heart”, interrupted Aisha. “I mean, it’s great that we’re doing this for him, but I think he’s not completely over Sam yet. I saw them looking at each other before, and he had his signature heart eyes… I almost fell into a diabetic coma.”

“That’s exactly why we’re doing it!” said Keiko, sounding very excited. “What better way to get over her than meeting someone new? And you don’t know the best part yet… tell them, Joy!”

“We have a candidate”, whispered Sophie, “and she’s _perfect_.”

“What, already?”

“We met her when I went to say hi to my brother, and the Krunch people came to talk to us”, Keiko started. “By the way, Aisha: your little friend Robby Keene is a world-class jerk.”

“Oh, come on! Can’t you give him a chance and be nice? He’s Sensei’s son!”

“Nice? To that wannabe skater boy? Ugh, I’m glad I didn’t meet him earlier… But that’s not important now. As I was saying, it was clear that girl liked Miguel, so I sent Joy over to the Krunch group to investigate.”

“Keiko says people talk to me because I have a friendly face”, said the blond girl, smiling demurely, “so I went there and got some information.”

“Okay”, said Grace, interested. “What do we know about Miss Krunch, then?”

Sophie stood up, put her hands behind her back, and recited the facts as if she was in class: “Maria Salazar, sixteen years old. Lives in Encino Hills. Her family is Mexican, but they’ve been here for decades. Her Dad is an architect… He works with Frank Gehry, they designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall together. On the superficial side, they’re filthy rich. Like, totally loaded.”

“Look at that, my girl is like a real detective! What else?” asked Grace.

“She’s one of the most popular girls in Our Lady of the Valley.”

“Catholic school? Wow, fancy. Where is that?” asked Aisha.

“Canoga Park.”

“And now for the fundamental point: Boyfriend situation?”

“Three in the last year, none right now”, said Sophie triumphantly. “Or maybe four… my informant wasn’t sure if one of them was a boyfriend or a casual hookup. But, before anybody says anything, remember we’re not here to slut-shame that girl”, she said, raising her index finger as a warning.

“Preach!”, added Grace while Aisha nodded. “The only thing that matters is that she’s single and interested. Anything else?”

“She usually goes for the popular guys: athletes, rich kids, straight-A students.”

“And she likes Miguel? He’s not exactly a quarterback…”

“He’s not a loser anymore either”, interceded Aisha, always ready to defend her friend.

“Right! The tournament win made people curious about him”, observed Keiko. “From what I saw when the Krunch people came to invite us to the game, I suspect she wants to trap Miguel before school starts and he becomes super popular. Besides, her dojo has never won anything, every year they get defeated on the first rounds. Being friends with Cobra Kai is good politics for them.”

“So... this Maria Salazar may look like a silly girl, but there’s actually a functioning brain under the hair and the eyelashes. Interesting”, said Aisha, who was starting to warm up to the idea of setting Miguel up with someone who wasn’t Samantha.

“Exactly”, Keiko agreed. “Even better, she joined the dojo right before the tournament, so she’s been doing karate only for three months. Long enough to have things in common with Mig… but at the same time she’s still a newbie, they won’t see each other as competition.”

“Great job, ladies!” said Grace, leaning playfully on Sophie’s shoulder. “So… what’s the next step? Push them both into the lake and see who rescues who?”

The four girls laughed out loud, imagining the scene.

“That’s the best part, we don’t have to do anything!” said Sophie with a grin. “The softball match is at noon, and we’re on the same team as Krunch. We’ll just give Miguel a small nudge in the right direction… and wait to see if the magic happens.”

“Judging by the way she was looking at him before… it will.”

They laughed again, while Aisha stood out and recited: “If we can do this, Cupid is no longer an archer; his glory shall be ours, for we are the only love gods… I mean, goddesses.”

The other girls clapped with enthusiasm.

“Wow, did you just make that up?” asked Sophie.

“No, it’s Shakespeare, silly! Hey, when do Grace and I get to meet this girl and give our approval?”

“She was sunbathing at the pier a moment ago, Striped red and white bikini, you can’t miss her”, Keiko said, pointing towards the lake. “Why don’t you go and say introduce yourselves? And… if you end up talking about Miguel and how great he is, even better.”

Grace stood up and made a face. “Let’s keep it subtle, girls… if we try too hard, she’ll think Diaz is an idiot who can’t get a girl without our help.”

“You’re right. But you still can talk to her and find out what she likes: movies, food, music… see if they have something in common besides karate.”

Aisha and Grace gave their friends a mockery of a military salute, and disappeared towards the lake.

A bit further away, Sam had been observing the group of Cobra girls from afar. She’d been trying to find Moon, to no avail, and she felt like having some female companionship. However, seeing that Aisha was leaving made her hesitate before getting close to the other two: she had nothing against Sophie, of course… but she still wasn’t comfortable around Keiko, especially after she had just butted heads with Robby. That had been an awkward moment, and Sam didn’t want to start an argument and give her Dad more excuses for thinking that the Cobra Kai kids were a gang of thugs.

She was still deciding where she should approach the two girls or not, when she overheard a few sentences of their conversation.

“So, you think Miguel and that Krunch girl will…?” Sophie started, in a hesitant tone.

“Absolutely”, answered Keiko. “I bet you a giant milkshake that he asks her to the school’s homecoming dance next month. She clearly likes him, and he’s been alone for too long. Besides, Aisha told me that Sam LaRusso was Miggy’s first and only girlfriend. He’s a great guy, it’s a shame he’s been out of the dating circuit for so long!”

The blond girl laughed.

“And what about you, Keiko? Where do you stand in the dating circuit? Ryan was trying to flirt with you the other day at the dojo, and you looked at him as if he was dumb.”

“Oh, please!” Keiko rolled her eyes. “Ryan is a _child_. I need someone with more…”

“Gumption? Maturity? Wit?”

“I was going to say ‘balls’, but you could call it that, too. All the Cobra Kai boys are cinnamon rolls in disguise… not my type.”

“We can find you someone. We’re in a park full of boys! And, if you want to go on a double date with Miguel and Maria, that Krunch boy Brian is kind of cute… and he almost got to the quarter finals of the tournament this year. Is that ballsy enough for you?”

“ _Almost_ got to the quarter finals?” Keiko snickered. “Oh, wow, I have to promise him my eternal love right now!”

The girls giggled again. And Sam, concerned about what she’d just heard about Miguel, decided that she’d had heard enough. She quietly slipped away, unnoticed by anyone.

* * *

  
“Hey, babe… did you miss me?”

“Oh, horribly”, said Kate, winking at Johnny. “The longest forty minutes of my whole life.”

He had just returned after helping the Krunch sensei unload the coal and start the fires. There was a small black smudge on his cheek; when Kate ran her thumb over it Johnny stared at her, surprised.

“What, in public? How daring of you, Miss Kate.”

Her answer was to stand up and point towards a nearby bench. “Come, I need to tell you something in private.”

Johnny frowned.

“Is this a ‘we need to talk’ thing? What did I do now?”

He sounded serious. And worried, until Kate shook her head and smiled brightly at him.

“Nothing! We do need to talk, but I promise it’s good news.”

Once she was sure there was a sizeable distance between them and Rosa’s inquisitive ears, Kate reached for Johnny’s hand.

“I haven’t had a moment to tell you this before, so… here it goes. I had a very long conversation with Rani yesterday. About us. I told her that we like each other very much, and that we’re dating, and…”

“Is she okay with it?” asked Johnny, impatiently.

“More than okay. You already were her idol before, and now I think she likes you more than me. She’s over the moon.”

The corners of Johnny’s blue eyes wrinkled when he grinned. “That’s a relief.”

“Absolutely. It also means that… well, since we were keeping things under wraps for Rani’s sake, and we don’t need to do that anymore, that means we can…”

She didn’t have time to finish the sentence before Johnny circled her waist with his hands and pressed his lips to hers. He kept kissing her, deeper, almost to the point of leaving her out of breath, until they heard a couple of loud cheers behind them.

“Way to go, Sensei!”

“Yay, finally!”

“Oh, about time already…”

Kate opened her eyes and saw a few Cobra Kai students walking towards them, all of them with cheeky smiles on their faces.

“Watch that mouth, Diaz”, growled Johnny, trying to sound serious. “Or I’ll make you do so many push-ups on Monday that your arms will fall off.”

“Sorry, Sensei”, said the boy, still smiling. “We just wanted to tell you that the softball match is about to start. Those Krunch guys may be bad at karate, but they seem really cool.”

“Some of them cooler than others…”, interrupted Grace, giving Miguel a jab on the ribs. “Like your friend Maria.”

The boy blushed furiously. “Oh, come on, not now!”

Johnny put his arm around Kate’s shoulders and grinned. It was hard to be mad at his students when he felt on top of the world.

“Okay, I’ll go watch your little game. But only if you promise to destroy the other team completely, understood?”

“Yes, Sensei!” the boys and girls answered in unison.

“I’m afraid I can’t go, guys”, said Kate. “I promised Bert’s Mom I would join her Kundalini yoga class, and it also starts in ten minutes.”

Johnny made a face. “Ugh, yoga? Can’t you take a rain check?”

“Sorry”, she answered, interlacing her fingers with his. “Amanda is coming too, and I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, but… fine”, he said, after the Cobra Kai kids had left. “I’ll see you at lunch; after the game I have to keep manning with the barbecues. Those Committee guys can’t even light a fire without help.”

“I see… they need a real man over there, right?” she joked.

“Right.”

“Don’t worry, I have lots of things to do until you’re back. And, if the chicken wings are not perfectly roasted, I’ll know who to blame.”

Now that they didn’t have an audience anymore, Johnny grabbed Kate and kissed her again. He caressed her hair slowly, without haste, enjoying the new freedom of being seen together in public. He wasn’t exactly an exhibitionist, but there was something deeply satisfying in letting everybody know that she was _his_ girl.

He was about to go beyond the lines of propriety and start kissing her neck, when a discreet cough stopped him.

“Er… hi.” It was Amanda, arriving right on time. “Sorry to interrupt, but…”

“Yes, of course!” said Kate, a little embarrassed. “Harmony’s class. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.”

“Great”, said the other woman with a wide smile.

“I better get going and leave you ladies with your… yoga stuff”, said Johnny, slightly bothered by the interruption. “By the way, Mrs. L… I never thanked you for that breakfast. It was really nice of you.”

Amanda smiled and nodded.

“Thank _you_ for not killing my husband that day. It would have been a disaster, I look absolutely dreadful in black. And call me Amanda, please… You’ve tried my food, we’re well past the ‘last names only’ stage.”

Johnny nodded, gave Kate a peck on the lips, and took his leave.

“One day you have to tell me everything about that breakfast episode”, said Kate, matter-of-factly, while they walked to the grass patch where the yoga class was about to start. “I’ve heard Johnny’s side, of course… but I suspect there’s more to it.”

Amanda rolled her eyes and sighed.

“I’m just glad I interrupted him and Daniel before they came to blows. It would have been weird, explaining to my neighbors why there were two grown men in my patio, fighting to the death… over something that happened when I was in elementary school.”

* * *

  
_“May the long time Sun shine upon you,_  
_All love surround you,_  
_And the pure light within you_  
_Guide your way on._ _  
Sat Nam…”_

_“Sat Nam…”_

The woman sitting in the center of the circle repeated the closing mantra several times, followed by a chorus of mostly female voices. The only man in the yoga class was Bert’s father; all the other participants were an assortment of karate moms.

After Harmony performed a final sun salutation, the session ended. Amanda and Kate, sitting on opposite sides of the circle, smiled at each other.

The Kundalini yoga class had taken place in a tranquil corner of the park, far away from the buzz of the games and sports. After Bert’s parents had left, the two women grabbed their things and started making their way to the central area.

“So, how did you like the class?” asked Kate.

“I loved it! Harmony is a certified yoga teacher, right? I need to find out where, I hadn’t felt this centered and relaxed in months.”

“I think her studio is in Wilbur Avenue; I’ll ask her at lunch.”

“Thanks. By the way, now that we have found our inner peace, maybe we can sit for a moment and share a couple of these”, said Amanda, opening the small cooler bag she was carrying; there were several small bottles in it, of different colors.

“Wine coolers? Oh, you’re a genius!”

“Well, drama has been following Daniel since last year, so I figured I would need one of these today… I just didn’t imagine it would be before lunch. And I better make it two, to forget all the silly things my dear husband said this morning. Let me see… we have strawberry daiquiri, cherry lime, pineapple, peach… oh, and sangria, of course.”

Kate sat on a nearby bench and grabbed a red colored one. “Nobody can say you didn’t come prepared! I confess I blackmailed Johnny into being one of the designated drivers today. He promised he wouldn’t touch alcohol, and I saw him with a can of Mountain Dew before… so I think he’s behaving.”

Amanda narrowed her eyes and stared at Kate. “You have more influence on him than I had imagined.”

“It was easy, we agreed on an exchange: next Saturday at his high school reunion I will drive, and he can drink all he wants. After all, it’s his party.”

“Ah, yes, the school reunion.” Amanda gazed at the distance, pretending not to be concerned about what could happen the following weekend. “Aren’t you worried that Johnny will see… you know who?”

“A little. But she’s married, right? I’m hoping thirty-four years are long enough.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Kate raised her eyebrows, surprised. “Oh, come on. You and Daniel have been married for… how long? Twenty years? An old girlfriend may be a threat to me, but not to you.”

“Eighteen. And some old girlfriends cast longer shadows than others”, Amanda sighed. “But enough about the ghosts of the past, we were talking about you! Looks like things are going well with you and Johnny.”

Kate took a sip of her sangria and smiled. “We even had our first fight a few days ago… and survived. I don’t want to be too optimistic, but…”

“Oh, come on! As soon as I saw you two at the restaurant I knew you’d make a perfect couple.”

“Perfect? No, thank God… My ex-boyfriend Simon and I got the ‘perfect couple’ moniker for years, and it ended up badly. I know this is as imperfect as it can be, and I’m fine with it.” She tilted her head up, staring at the clouds above. “Johnny will never get me flowers, or breakfast in bed. He’ll probably forget our anniversary every year, if we get that far. And I’m perfectly okay with all that, because I know he’s a good man. I don’t need the flowers, nor the expensive gifts, nor the romantic gestures, because I…”

“Because you love him.”

There was a long and awkward silence, and Amanda feared she had said too much.

“We haven’t talked about that yet. It’s been barely a month”, Kate muttered, blushing.

“That’s not something you talk about, it’s just something you say when you feel it. If he’s the one, sometimes it takes less than a month. I mean… I was sure Daniel was the man of my life only three days after meeting him”, said Amanda, closing her eyes and remembering the earlier days of her relationship with her husband.

She noticed Kate hadn’t exactly denied being in love. Nor admitted it. And it wasn’t fair to keep pressing the issue, so she let it go.

They had finished their drinks; both of them reached for another bottle. It was past noon, on one of the hottest days of the year, and the park baked lazily in the sun. Here and there, groups of people sat on the grass, chatting, playing cards, or just lying there. Others chose to lounge by the lake, with their feet in the water to stay cool. A few young couples had found refuge beneath the shadow of the trees… or even in the bushes: apparently the festive atmosphere had encouraged some unexpected friendships between boys and girls from different dojos, and they were doing their best to become _acquainted_ with their new friends.

Further away, a smoke column marked the place where a line of barbecue pits was in full swing. If yoga was populated mostly by women, barbecues were the realm of men.

“I guess some things never change”, observed Amanda, pointing a finger at the group of karate teachers. Daniel and Johnny were standing as far away from the other as they could,  each of them pretending to be busy with the grilling… and throwing furtive glances at the other every now and then. “Are they even aware of how stupid hey look?”

Kate stared at them for a moment, and then turned towards their friend.

“Amanda... can I ask you an inconvenient question that you’re at liberty not to answer?”

“I love inconvenient questions! Shoot.”

“Did those two ever hook up in high school?”

There was a sudden sputtering noise as Amanda started coughing, covering her mouth with her hand. She managed just in the brink of time to prevent the wine cooler from coming out of her nose.

“Kate! What the hell?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking out loud!” she said, handing the other woman a tissue. “You have to admit there’s a lot of tension between them.”

“But… but… why? How?” coughed Amanda again, too bewildered to think.

“It happened to my friend Kevin once! He was in the football team in high school, and on his senior year there was this linebacker who went out of his way to bully him every single day. It turned out the linebacker was… let’s call it sexually confused, and begging for attention. One day after practice they started fighting in the locker room, ended up fucking it out, and they were cool for the rest of the year. In fact, they were together until they left for college.”

“That’s both a really cute story and totally fucked up”, observed Amanda, wiping the spilled drink off her jeans.

“I was just wondering if something like that could have happened with…” she pointed at Johnny and Daniel in the distance. “But no, the tension still exists, so it’s clearly not the same case. And, even if it was… it’s too late, they’re stuck with us now. They will never leave us, we’re too fabulous.”

“Hear, hear”, Amanda sneered, raising her wine cooler bottle in a mockery of a toast. Kate raised hers too before taking a long drink.

“And now... let’s finish drinking these, go have lunch, and forget I ever asked you that question.”

“Question? What question? Dear Kate, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What are we doing after lunch?”

Kate threw her head back and laughed. “That’s the spirit! After lunch… they have a café at the sports complex over there, we can try the coffee there and hope it’s half decent. And then… hey, didn’t you play volleyball in high school? There’s a volleyball court next to the golf course, maybe you can organize a match with some of the kids.”

“Oh, that sounds great!” said Amanda enthusiastically. “It’s been ages since the last time I played, but it can be fun. Did you see if the net was there? Outdoor courts are usually awful.”

Kate took a moment to think.

“Now that you mention it, I don’t remember seeing a net. But there’s a big tool shed close to the sports area, they must keep all the equipment in there.”

“Awesome! Let’s go tell Sue and reserve the court.” Amanda stood up and took the empty wine cooler bottles to the recycle bin. “Then we can drop by the barbecue pits, tell Daniel and Johnny that we have a foolproof plan to merge the two dojos, and watch while they have a heart attack.”

“Don’t be mean!” Kate laughed as they walked towards the central area of the park. “There’s still a lot of day left, we’ll be lucky if we make it to the evening with zero fights. Sorry if it sounds defeatist, but... everything is going too well so far.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to the LawRusso shippers for that little bit of teasing! You know I love you.


	28. Dalliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda organizes her vollyball match, and the search for a piece of missing equipment leads to a surprise. Meanwhile, Miguel contemplates a new relationship with caution... while other people take a not so delicate approach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not very confident in my writing ability this week, I'm not sure why. Sometimes I read other people's stuff and think that mine is mediocre... I guess it's just one of those days. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Things are progressing slower than I thought, and the characters keep talking too much, so I'm going to split the last part of the excursion in two (chapters 29 and 30). There are some things you can't hurry.  
> This part deals with some of the teen characters, with a small appearance by Kate and Amanda. The next two parts will feature Daniel and Johnny more, because I need to get those two talking... and something that will happen on this chapter gives me the perfect excuse. Have fun reading!

CHAPTER 28. DALLIANCE

The clock on the wall of the sports center building struck three.

It was right after lunch, and the park had fallen into a content and lazy silence. Everybody had congregated to watch the softball match a couple of hours before, and it had turned out to be a surprisingly peaceful event. The combined ‘Cobra Krunch’ team, as the kids had christened it, had won for a very narrow margin, and all the players had been good sports about it; it seemed there were no hard feelings when things didn’t revolve around karate. Some of the boys had even exchanged t-shirts with their opponents, so if anyone had joined the excursion late they would have had a hard time knowing which kids belonged on each dojo.

Then came the eagerly awaited lunch. With the kids’ appetites fueled by the delicious smell coming from the barbecue pits, it was no wonder that up to the last morsel of food had disappeared so quickly. The kids and their parents had gravitated towards their own groups when the food was served… With some exceptions, of course: the Krunch delegation had camped right next to Cobra Kai, attracted by the newfound camaraderie between their students, and by the promise of Kate’s salted caramel brownies. 

A bit further away, Daniel and Amanda chatted with some moms who had joined them for coffee. The buzzing of the bees and the hum of the conversations were the only sounds in the air.

At a prudent distance from everybody else, a solitary figure stood in silence among the trees.

Robby had been feeling out of sorts all day. He had arrived to the park expecting something awful to happen, and the anticipation had kept him antsy and irritable all week. Now, it was as if everything was too good to be true: his Dad and Mr. LaRusso hadn’t argued yet, his Dad’s girlfriend was nice, the Cobra Kai kids weren’t giving him a hard time… even Skunk Hair had had the decency of disappearing from sight.

Only the argument with Shiro’s sister was circling around his mind once and again. And, when confronted with an invasive thought he couldn’t fight, Robby turned to his training for help. He took several deep breaths, closed his eyes, and started a slow kata routine.

After a few minutes, he felt better. More calm, at least. His breathing slowed to a steady rhythm while his body found comfort in the familiar motions. He was about to finish the exercise and go back to the LaRussos, when…

_Crack._

It wasn’t a loud noise, just the snap of a twig under someone’s foot, but it sent a shiver down Robby’s spine. Without thinking, he jumped into a fighting stance and opened his eyes… to find in front of him the last person he expected to see.

Keiko raised her hands in a mock surrender gesture.

“Peace”, she said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Were you spying on me?” he grunted, still with his fists up.

“Spying? Why, is kata a top secret discipline now? I did those exact moves when I trained at my old dojo in Cleveland… you’re not that special.”

“Whatever”, he said, dropping his arms to his sides. “Go play with your little Cobra Kai friends and leave me alone.”

Keiko shrugged and started to walk away… but then she stopped in her tracks and turned around, staring at Robby with her arms crossed.

“I don’t understand you.”

“What?” asked the boy.

“Your Sensei is here, and your friends from Miyagi-Do. You could make friends with a dozen people from other dojos if you wanted. My brother speaks wonders of you, and I know how hard it is to earn his good opinion… Rattler also thinks you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, for some reason. Hell, even your father is here today, wanting to make amends!”

“Leave my father out of this! You have no idea of–”

“And what do you choose to do?” she interrupted him. “Hide behind a tree and sulk! Seriously, I don’t get it. What’s wrong with you?”

“Nobody asked you to ‘get it’”, he answered between gritted teeth. “I’m fine.”

Keiko sighed and took a step towards the boy.

“Do you want to know where my parents are today?” she asked in a softer tone. “They’re at a medical conference in the Bahamas. Last weekend, it was a convention in Boston. Three weeks from now, they’re going to another conference... in Switzerland. When I told them about this meetup my Mom gave me her credit card so I could buy my friends ice cream or something… but you can be sure that neither of them would bother to come here and take a real interest in what Shiro and I are doing.”

“Poor rich girl”, Robby spat. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? Cry you a river?”

Keiko let out a bitter laugh.

“I’m just saying you don’t have the monopoly on family problems and that stuff. At least your Dad is here today. By the way, he was looking for you ten minutes ago, he even went to ask Mrs. LaRusso where you could be.”

“You don’t know shit about my Dad. You think he’s cool because he’s your teacher and…” he rolled his eyes. “Forget it, it’s not worth talking about this with you. Just stay out of it.”

Keiko frowned; when she set her mind on something, it was hard for her to let go.

“Being a jerk to everybody is not going to fix things. I know it won’t work… I tried it two years ago, when we moved to Ohio in the middle of the school year and I didn’t have any friends. The only thing you’ll get out of it is a Spotify list full of depressing songs. And maybe some heartburn.”

Robby stared at the girl from head to toe, trying to decide if she was serious or not.

Then he laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You almost had me there for a moment. Did Diaz and his friend with the stupid hair send you here to play a little prank? See if you can make me open up about my feelings to make fun of me?”

This time it was Keiko’s turn to roll her eyes.

“You’re the most absurd human being I’ve ever met”, she said, holding the boy’s green gaze without blinking. “If I wanted to mess with you I didn’t need to tell you my problems... The only thing I have to do to make you squirm is mention the All Valley Tournament.”

Robby jutted his chin up and moved closer to Keiko, who was leaning against the trunk of a big tree.

“I should have won that tournament!” he said, indignant. “I’m the moral winner anyway.”

“Congratulations! You’re all kinds of special. Sorry, boo... but there’s a trophy in my dojo that says otherwise.”

“Only because your little friends played dirty. And even if I lost, I got to the finals on my own and lost for only one point. Do you still think that’s beginner’s luck, rich girl?”

Keiko brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. She could feel her earlier anger fading… she hadn’t been present at the tournament, of course, so at first she had been convinced that Robby was just bitter about losing; but there was something behind the bitterness, some deep hurt she hadn’t noticed before.

“I suppose you haven’t been to many tournaments.”

“What if I haven’t?” asked Robby, in a suspicious but less hostile tone.

“If you’re salty about Hawk, then you’re right: he cheated and they were right to disqualify him. But Miguel only did what everybody does at a competition. Last year I had to withdraw from a tournament in Cleveland, would you like to know why?”

“You’re going to tell me anyway, aren’t you?” Robby huffed.

“Clever boy. During a recess I made the mistake of saying out loud that my lower back hurt, because of… you know, girl pains. I was in the changing room, in front of several girls from other dojos. Suddenly, after the tournament started again, every one of my opponents was targeting the same area. Guess where.”

“It shouldn’t be like that”, Robby muttered, biting his lip.

“It is like that in every sport. Martial arts aren’t different just because everything is very ceremonial and we fight barefoot and dressed like idiots. In the end, everybody fights to win.”

“That’s not what Mr. LaRusso says.”

Keiko tucked another strand of hair behind her ear. She always played with her hair when she was in the middle of an argument.

“Then why did your Mr. LaRusso go back to the All Valley after his first win? Didn’t he have enough? What was his reason the second time?”

“How do you know about...?”

“Your Sensei is not the only one who knows the karate history of the San Fernando Valley. It’s fascinating, by the way. And everybody knows Daniel LaRusso is a two time champion, that's no secret.”

Robby shook his head. “If you heard the story from my Dad, you only know one side of it.”

“For your information, I heard it from Shiro. And I could say the same of you, masked knight... I bet your Sensei only told you the _other_ half. And you took his words like gospel, of course.”

“That's bullshit.”

“Oh, come on! You train with your Sensei as his only student; you work for him, you move into his house… it’s never going to be enough, you know.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?”

“I mean that you’re desperately trying to get your Sensei’s attention. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Making him notice you and be your new Dad”, Keiko said, as if she was seeing the truth for the first time. “And now that Shiro has arrived, now that there are more students, now that your precious Samantha is doing karate again… you come here and sulk, feeling sorry for yourself instead of facing the facts: that you’re not the teacher’s pet anymore.”

Robby looked quickly left and right. There was no one in sight; most of the boys and girls and their families were still at the picnic tables, or lounging by the lake. He placed a hand on the tree trunk, next to Keiko’s face. The girl didn’t move, she just narrowed her eyes and held his gaze.

“Take that back. Now.”

“It stings, right? Being overlooked? It stings so much that you stay here, talking to me, even if you can’t stand me, because I’m the only person currently paying attention to you.”

“And why do you care? What’s _your_ reason for being here?”

“Maybe I want to care”, she said, tilting her head to one side. “Or maybe I don’t… but to you it’s all the same because you've convinced yourself that everybody at Cobra Kai is a horrible monster, just because your Sensei says so. You think that if you fight his little war for him you’ll end up being the teacher’s pet again.”

“I said don’t call me that”, Robby growled, stepping closer to her. “And wipe that smile off your face.”

Keiko’s grin widened. As slowly as she could she started inching forward, until they were so close that she could feel the warmth of Robby’s breath brush against her cheek.

“Make me.”

* * *

  
“So, I’ll pick you up at your dojo around… seven?”

“Better make it seven thirty; Sensei Lawrence is making me do some extra training with the Spinshot machine.”

“That’s a good sign, right? I mean, you’re his best student… it’s normal that he pays extra attention to you.”

Miguel nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on the patch of grass where he and Maria were sitting. He knew he wasn’t good at flirting, despite all the advice he’d received from Hawk in the previous weeks (advice that, with good sense, he had never put into practice). He was a bit embarrassed by the girl’s attentions, mostly because he felt he had done nothing to deserve them. Maria had started talking to him during lunch, and now she sat beside him, with her long hair brushing his arm, listening to his every word as if he was the most interesting guy in the world.

He expected to wake up any moment.

“I don’t know if I’m the best or not. It’s just… Sensei made an effort to train me last year, when I was hopeless; I owe him a lot, and I don’t want to let him down.”

Maria smiled. “That’s really sweet of you.”

“But you don’t have to… I mean, I don’t want you to wait at the door, it’s bad enough that you have to pick me up because I don’t drive. There’s a little café next door to Cobra Kai, you can wait for me there if you want. The owner is a lady called Gladys, if you tell her you’re with me I’m sure she’ll give you a free milkshake.”

“Well, I want to see the dojo where the magic happens, of course… But that café sounds like a good idea. I love milkshakes! I wish there was a place like that next to Krunch… All we have close to the dojo are a gym, a hardware store, and a Footlocker store”, she said with a frustrated pout. “Sometimes I think the only reason our Sensei has students is because it’s the only alternative to dying of boredom.”

Miguel laughed. For all her ‘mean girl’ appearance, his new friend was unexpectedly nice. She’d been very enthusiastic about his idea of watching Ant-Man and the Wasp; that had been a nice surprise (his backup plan had been the Mamma Mia sequel, and he was relieved when he didn't need it). The date had been set for next Tuesday, and Miguel had managed not to hyperventilate when she had touched his hair and called him sweet. Now they were sitting at a prudent distance from the picnic tables, talking about silly nothings, well aware that several of their friends were watching the situation from afar.

At last, Maria checked the time on her phone and let out a squeal.

“Oh, no, I have to go!” she said, standing up. “I promised my friend Crystal that we’d go for a swim after lunch. I’d invite you, but… it’s girls only, sorry.”

“It’s okay, really”, muttered Miguel, not knowing how he would have reacted in close proximity to a wet, bikini-clad Maria. “I’ll see you before you leave, right?”

“Oh, of course”, she whispered, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “See you later, champion.”

Miguel nodded in silence, and watched the girl sway her hips as she left.

“You know, Mig, your eyes will fall off if you keep staring at her like that.”

Miguel winced and jumped to his feet. It was Aisha, of course, with a caramel brownie in her hand and a knowing smile on her lips.

“Geez, Aisha! You could have warned me!”

“You wouldn’t have heard a word, Mr. Champion”, she laughed. “Hey, I managed to snatch the last two brownies from the table. Do you want one?”

“Cool, thanks”, he said, picking one of the chocolate squares. “God, these are so good… I hope Kate never leaves Sensei Lawrence if she’s going to keep making these.”

“They seem quite steady to me, don’t worry. And… speaking of going steady: are you really going out with that girl from Krunch?”

“Maria. Her name is Maria.”

Aisha rolled her eyes. “And suddenly that name will never be the same to you?”

“What?” Miguel blinked, completely oblivious to the West Side Story reference.

“Forget it. So… is this happening for real? I thought you wanted to talk to Sam before asking anybody else out.”

“Yes, we’re going to the movies on Tuesday.” The boy bit his lip nervously and raked a hand through his hair. “Look, Aisha, I know Sam is your best friend… but you saw how she was today with Keiko’s brother, they've been inseparable all morning. And Hawk saw them together at the Lakers game the other day. It’s no use waiting for her any longer.”

“Dude... don’t make the same mistake you made with Sam and Keene back in May”, said Aisha in a calm tone. “You have no idea if Shiro and her are together, or if they’re just friends.”

“You know what? I don’t care if they’re together or not, I’m over her. She’s moved on, and it’s about time I do the same”, he said, frowning.

“I wish you could hear all the bullshit that’s spewing out of your mouth. You’re not over Sam!” Aisha exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “Not unless you magically got over her this morning, because yesterday I caught you staring at the wall of the dojo and sighing like an idiot.”

“I’m with Maria now, okay? I’ve made a decision, and it’s final.”

“Oh, spare me the drama! You’re taking her to see a movie, not to Vegas to get married. By the way, don’t make her watch one of those action films you like so much, or she’ll leave you on the spot.”

“We’re going to see Ant-Man and the Wasp. She said it was okay.”

“Better make it a rom-com for your second date, if you get that far. Where are you taking her afterwards?”

“There’s a diner on Sherman Way that looks like the one in Grease… You know, like those they had in the fifties. Sensei Lawrence told me he took Kate there for their first date. I thought it would be a good idea”, answered the boy, who didn’t really have a long list of ideas for places where one could take a girl.

“That’s smart! I’m glad you’re not taking dating tips from Hawk anymore.”

Miguel smiled, remembering how nervous he had been before his first date with Sam. This time it was a little different, the nerves were still there but the butterflies on his stomach weren’t bothering him so much. That had to be a good sign.

“Thanks. Hey, speaking of tips… what do you think of the planetarium for a second date?”

“Isn’t that where you were going to take Sam? You’re recycling!”

“I never took her there, did I?” Miguel defended himself. “It’s not like Sam has a right to complain if I go with Maria to see the stars.”

Aisha patted her friend on the back. “I think that’s a good choice for a second date. Just don’t try to use the darkness in the planetarium to get too close to Maria’s silky panties.”

“Wh… what? I’m not going to do that!” Miguel coughed loudly, almost choking on the last bite of his brownie, and stared at Aisha with his mouth open. He wasn’t used to that kind of language from his formerly demure friend.

“I’m just kidding!” she said with a laugh. “Don’t worry, she’s a good Catholic girl… she’s not gonna let you _anywhere_ near her panties. And now I take my leave… Sam’s mom is organizing a match and I promised Pride and Joy I’d be there. Bye, Mig!”

Leaving the flustered boy alone with his Maria-related thoughts, Aisha went to look for the Cobra Kai girls. She still wasn’t a hundred per cent sure about Miguel and the Krunch girl, but… it had been a while since she’d had seen him so excited about someone, so she decided to let it go. After all, if things didn’t work out and his first date with Maria ended up being his _only_ date… at least he would learn something. Chalk it all up to experience, like that song in the Legally Blonde musical.

Seeing her Cobra Kai friends in the distance, she ran towards the sports area, where a small crowd was starting to congregate for the afternoon activities.

* * *

  
“Well, this is the shabbiest volleyball court I’ve seen in my whole life.”

Amanda stood in the middle of the aforementioned court with her hands on her hips. All around her, Kate and a group of kids had been awaiting her verdict, hoping that the place was good enough to play in it.

“Now that you mention it, the boundary lines are a little blurred…” observed Kate.

“The lines are so blurred they’re almost imaginary. Besides that, the antennas are rusty and bent, the net is missing… At least the floor is leveled, but that’s the only good thing I can say.”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. L., the most fundamental thing is present. We are in possession of a ball”, announced Demitri, who despite being awful at sports was willing to give volleyball a chance... especially because most of the people interested in playing were girls. Practically every girl from every dojo in the Valley was there, and the few that were missing were on their way, recruited by Samantha and Shiro.

“The boy is right”, said Kate. “Look, I know you take this sport very seriously, but we can have fun even with a rundown court. As to the missing net… I just talked to one of the gardeners, he gave me permission to look in the old tool shed. He says it has to be there.”

“At last, some good news! Did he give you the keys to the shed?”

“I won’t need them, apparently the lock has been broken for weeks.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “If that’s how the County of Los Angeles looks after its parks, it’s a miracle they’re still up and running!”

There was a sound of footsteps behind them. Several more girls and a couple of boys arrived running, led by Shiro and Sam.

“Hi, everybody!” said the boy brightly. “I think we’ve got more than enough people to form the two teams now, Mrs. LaRusso.”

“Thank you, Shiro, good job”, she said, looking at the group of cheerful teenagers that had just been convinced to join the game.

“By the way… have you seen my sister, Miss Kate? She said she wouldn’t play but she wanted to see the match. And now I can’t find her anywhere.”

“No, sorry. And don’t call me Miss Kate, please… I feel like a spinster in a Dickens novel every time I hear it. Girls, wasn’t Keiko with you at lunch?” she asked, looking at Grace and Sophie.

“Yes, but we haven’t seen her since then”, answered Grace. “I thought she was with you, Aisha.”

“No, I was talking to Miguel after lunch, up to ten minutes ago… maybe she went swimming?”

“On her own? That’s not like Keiko.”

“I have an idea”, Kate interceded. “I’m going to get the volleyball net from the shed, and I’ll drop by the pier on my way back and tell Keiko that the game is about to start… if she’s there. Girls, you can go back to the picnic area and ask Mrs. Rosa if she’s seen her.”

“Sure!”, Sophie said.

“That net will be heavy. Maybe I should go get it, Miss… I mean, Kate”, offered Shiro, eager to help.

“I can manage; thank you, Shiro. You stay here and help Amanda organize the teams… I’ll be back in no time, don’t worry.”

“Fingers crossed that nobody has stolen it”, muttered Amanda, still irked about the state of the sports courts.

“I bet you a sangria wine cooler that it will be there, and in one piece”, Kate joked. “Rani, sweetheart, stay here with Mrs. LaRusso, will you?”

“Yes, Mom”, nodded the girl, enthusiastic about learning a new game. “And then, after we play volleyball, Robby will teach me how to skate, right?”

“I swear I don’t know where you get all that energy”, said Kate, surprised. “Yes, you’ve made poor Robby promise to teach you, so that’s what we’ll do. Now, be good and do everything Mrs. LaRusso tells you until I get back.”

* * *

  
The tool shed was on top of a slope, and Kate was almost gasping for air when she got there. She stopped to catch her breath outside the building.

 _The gardener wasn’t joking when he called it old… it must have been here for decades_ , she thought, observing the broken windows, covered in a thick layer of dust, and the thatched roof that was begging for repairs.

Hoping the man had been right about the broken lock, Kate tried the hatch. It turned without a noise, and she stepped inside, trying to get her eyes used to the darkness. She looked for a light switch, but there wasn't one.

The interior of the shed was big, messy, and as derelict as the outside. It was also full of things that had absolutely no business being there: Kate saw a big candelabrum, some moth-eaten stuffed animals piled up in a corner (a fox, an eagle, and something that looked like an owl), and a full-length mirror that gave her a little scare when she saw her own reflection moving in the dark. There were also a couple of tool boxes, several spades, a scythe, a wheelbarrow… but no sign of any sports equipment. Finally, she noticed a door on the opposite wall, with a red sign that said ‘storage’.

_Jackpot. It has to be in there._

Trying not to tread on anything she crossed the room, reached for the handle… and stopped. There was a faint noise coming from behind the door, and she hoped it wouldn’t be anything bigger than a rat or a mouse. She really wasn’t looking forward to an encounter with a badger, or a stray dog that may have wandered inside.

Hoping that the sudden movement would scare any critters in the storage room, she grabbed the handle, pushed the door open with all her strength…

… and turned around, covering her eyes with her hands.

“Oh, my God.”

On one corner of the room, reclined over a pile of dusty mats and frayed military blankets, was Keiko. And beside her, looking like he had the fright of his life, sat none other than Robby. Shirtless, flustered, and visibly frustrated by the interruption.

The two teenagers looked at each other, confused.

“You didn’t lock the door?”

“I tried! The lock didn’t work!”

“You could have said something!”

“I was busy… and somebody was impatient, remember?”

Still with her back turned to the unexpected couple, Kate took a deep breath.

“I’m going to turn around now. Is everybody decent?”

“One second!”, said Robby, scrambling for his t-shirt and putting it on at all speed, while Keiko looked for her discarded shoes.

Kate looked at the two teenagers, biting her lip. She realized she had no idea of what to say next… On one hand, Keiko was a Cobra Kai, and that gave her a modicum of authority over the girl, but not much. On the other hand, Robby was… her boyfriend’s practically estranged son, who had a history of not giving a damn about that the adults in his life told him.

In the end, her motherly instincts kicked in.

“Keiko... come here a moment, will you?” she asked, willing her voice to sound calm and collected.

The girl, who had managed to find only one of her missing shoes, stood up and hopped towards Kate on one leg. Kate put a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she whispered quietly.

“Perfectly fine. Why?” answered Keiko, arching an eyebrow.

“What I really meant to ask is… are you here because you _wanted_ to come here?”

Keiko nodded, frowning.

“If you’re asking if Robby tricked me into this, or something like that... the answer is no”, she answered in a careful whisper. “I’m old enough to–”

“You’re fifteen”, interrupted Kate, not letting her finish. “There’s a number of things you’re not old enough to do. But if you came here on your own free will, that’s fine. I’m not your mother and this is not a lecture… I’m just checking that you’re all right.”

Keiko limped back towards the pile of mats and sat on it again, gingerly. Meanwhile, Robby stared at Kate with a defiant look in his eyes. Bracing herself for the boy’s reaction, Kate stood in front of the couple, with her arms crossed.

“Okay, next question: Are you two out of your mind?”

Nobody answered.

“Keiko, your brother has been looking for you everywhere. What if he had come here instead of me?”

“What of it?” said Robby, shrugging.

“Robby, do you have a death wish?”

More crickets chirping. Seeing that the questioning was getting her nowhere, Kate thought of a different strategy.

“Look, I understand you two wanting to… know each other better. But does it have to be _here_? I mean... those blankets haven’t seen the inside of a washing machine for years. And I’m quite sure I’ve seen a dead rat under that table.

“Ugh, gross!” Keiko exclaimed, trying to stand as far away as possible from the table.

Kate rubbed her eyes and continued.

“Exactly, gross. If you two were eighteen I would lend you my car keys so you could have a clean place to make out. But... you’re not, so the only thing I’m going to do is suggest that you have a little talk, go on a date if you really like each other, and next time consider going to a movie theatre. Or to the Café de France, there’s a quiet table at the back that Gladys calls ‘the smooching corner’.”

That made Keiko laugh. Even Robby smirked for a moment, before getting defensive again.

“No offense, Kate, but… why are you here? Apart from ruining the mood.”

_Cocky little shit… like his father. I shouldn’t be surprised._

“Actually, I came looking for that volleyball net”, she said, pointing at the nest of green netting on a shelf, right behind Robby’s head. “Amanda’s match is about to start, so if you hand it to me I’ll be out of your hair in a minute.”

The boy grabbed the tangled net and gave it to Kate.

“Thank you”, she said softly. “Well, I’m leaving before I step on a rusty nail or something. See you later, Robby. You know, Rani is really looking forward to her skating lesson.”

“Ah… okay. Great. Can you take her to the skate park at six… please?” he asked, feeling a little embarrassed at last.

“Of course. Thanks again.”

As Kate disappeared through the door, Keiko found her other shoe and put it on, careful not to touch anything around her. Robby observed her with a frown.

“What, you had your fun and now you’re leaving too?”

“No, genius”, she answered. “But I do want to get out of here. I’m not happy in the company of rats, even if they’re dead. No, _especially_ if they’re dead. And you’re coming with me.” She grabbed Robby’s hand and led him outside. Kate was nowhere to be seen, they were completely alone again.

“Has anybody ever told you how bossy you are?” asked the boy.

“Hundreds of times. What, you hadn’t noticed?”

He laughed and sat on a nearby bench.

“God, what a mess! I mean, Kate kinda had a point… if it had been Shiro looking for you I’d be dead now.”

“She also had another good point: where do we go from here?” asked Keiko, sitting beside him. “Was this just a thing that happened today, or do we want to take it further and see where it’s going?”

There was a long silence. Robby observed Keiko’s face closely, and then sighed.

“Well, I like you. You’re a pain in the ass, but–”

“Thanks.”

“And you’re always interrupting me when I speak”, he snickered. “What do _you_ want to do?”

Keiko closed her eyes and thought for a moment.

“As I see it, we have two options: one, get all dramatic, say out loud ‘this was doomed from the start’, ‘we have disgraced our dojos’ and ‘this can’t happen again’, and leave it there. Or two, follow Kate’s advice and go out, see what happens. You like me, I like you… we could do worse, right?”

“Right. Won’t you get in trouble with your little Cobra friends if they see you with me?”

“Nah. It’s more likely that _you_ get in trouble with your Sensei, teacher’s pet. Or… with my brother.”

“Fuck! I keep forgetting about Shiro. That’s it… I’m dead.”

“Don’t panic, I’ll talk to him tonight. He’s your friend; and he’s never been one of those crazy overprotective older brothers, anyway. I think he’ll be cool with this.”

“Cool. Fine. So… do you want to do something tomorrow? We can catch a movie or whatever. By the way… don’t ever call me the teacher’s pet again, okay?”

“Tomorrow is good, my parents are still away so I don’t have a curfew. And don’t worry, I have lots of other things I can call you… pookie”, she snickered, sticking her tongue out.

“Come on! That’s even worse.”

Keiko put her arms around the boy’s neck and kissed him, smiling.

“And now we should get going, before my brother or someone else decides to look for any of us. Are you going to watch the volleyball match?”

“I should, yes. I told Mrs. LaRusso that I’d be there… and then I forgot.”

“Great. Then go, and I’ll see you again before everybody leaves, right?”

“Yeah… Come to the skating park later?”

“Are you trying to impress me with your moves, skater boy?”

“I thought I had already impressed you with my moves”, he said with a wink.

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself”, she answered. “I’m going to find Aisha. She wanted to go rowing on the lake.”

“Don’t tell her about us!” said the boy, alarmed.

“Stop freaking out! I’m very good at keeping secrets. Besides, Kate is probably going to tell Sensei Lawrence, anyway… so I don’t think this particular secret is going to last very long.”

“Oh, shit”, Robby complained, hiding his face in his hands. Then he saw the absurdity of the situation, and started laughing. “We’re crazy, right?”

“Possibly.”

“For the record, I still think you’re an annoying rich girl.”

“And I still think you’re a sulky emo kid. But, like I said before… we could do worse.”

She stood in front of Robby and ran her fingers through the boy’s hair.

“I like your eyes”, she observed. “Forgot to tell you that before.”

“Thanks, doll.”

Keiko wrinkled her nose. “Are we competing for the worst pet name ever? I think that one wins.”

Robby grinned. “I like the way your nose scrunches when you’re angry… I was trying to make you do that again.”

“Very clever, skater boy. Now let go of my hand, we have to leave.”

Robby gave her a quick peck on the lips and started walking towards the sports courts. It had taken a while… but his day was finally looking up.

 


	29. Ceasefire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda and Kate conspire together to reveal a secret, Keiko tries to prevent a fight, and Johnny and Daniel have a long-awaited conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took longer than I expected, and it was entirely Daniel and Johnny's fault. They hadn't talked to each other since chapter 11, and they refused to talk to each other for a week... until two days ago, when they finally started giving me something to work with. I'm still not 100% happy with that last scene, but I honestly did my best.
> 
> The Lake Balboa excursion is almost coming to an end: the next chapter will be the end of this little arc, I hope to tie a few loose ends, and then we'll be back to normal life in the Valley. Thank you for putting up with me and my crazy ideas!

CHAPTER 29. CEASEFIRE

Miguel observed the volleyball court from afar, shielding his eyes from the strong afternoon sun.  

The match had just ended; the audience cheered and clapped as the players exchanged handshakes and congratulated each other. He hadn’t exactly paid a lot of attention to the game…  the truth was, seeing Sam with her new boyfriend made him a bit uncomfortable. There she was, hugging Shiro in the middle of the court… even in front of her mother.

He lowered his head and kicked a pebble off the ground. Sam and him had been broken up for months, but still… that preferential treatment to Keiko’s brother didn’t feel right. He hadn’t even been given the chance to meet her parents once.

“Hey, Mig!”

Keiko, who had spotted Miguel alone and away from the crowd, ran towards him with a suspiciously wide smile on her face.

“Hi”, he answered softly.

“Why didn’t you sit with me to watch the game? It was so much fun!”

“I thought you were going to the lake with Aisha.”

“Yes, but then she decided that she wanted to play.”

“Who won? Us or them?”

“Oh, there was no ‘us’ or ‘them’ this time… we were all mixed up. Mrs. LaRusso’s team won, of course… she played volleyball in college, it may have been a million years ago but she’s still great at it. Sophie was on her team, but Grace and Aisha were on the other one. Nobody was too worried about keeping score anyway.”

“Cool”, said Miguel, throwing one last furtive gaze at the disbanding players. He was about to suggest going back to the picnic area and asking his Yaya if there was any food left, when something else caught his attention.

“Hey, what’s with the hickey?” he asked, pointing at a faint purplish mark on Keiko’s neck. “You didn’t have that this morning… looks like someone has been having fun.”

“We were supposed to make new friends today, right?” she laughed. “Well, I have some news for you.”

“Let me guess: was it our friend Brian from Krunch?” asked Miguel with a knowing smile. “I caught him looking at you this morning.”

“Nope. More like... our friend Robby from Miyagi-Do.”

Miguel took a step back and looked at his friend as if she had just sprouted horns.

“What? Keiko, are you out of your mind? Please tell me that you just teased him, stole his clothes and ran away.”

“Of course not! What’s that, the plot of a Hangover movie? We started talking and… well, things happened.”

“Ew, don’t tell me any details.”

“I wasn’t going to tell you anything specific, dumbass! You may be like one of the girls when it comes to gossiping, but this is private.”

“Thank God”, he huffed. “But really, of all the guys from all the dojos in the Valley…?”

Keiko rolled her eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but… I felt there was something interesting about Keene when we met this morning.”

“When you two almost got to blows in front of everybody? Yeah, that makes all the sense in the world.”

“Oh, don’t be daft! Anyway… I’m too curious for my own good, that’s always been one of my faults”, she said, pensive. “That’s the difference between you and me, Mig. You try to repress what you feel, and I… well, nevermind.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m not repressing anything. And when did you become a shrink, Doctor Yashida?”

The girl stared at him in silence for a moment.

“Well, earlier today the girls and I pushed you in Maria’s direction, and you just went with it.”

“Of course! I mean, Maria is fun, hot, popular… and I think she really likes me”, he said with a shrug. “I wasn’t being a pushover, I like her too. We’ll be fine.”

“That’s not a lot of emotion, _fine_ ”, observed the girl.

“Not everything needs to be super dramatic.”

Keiko laughed. “That’s rich, coming from Cobra Kai’s resident drama queen… I just thought today you’d try again with Sam LaRusso, that’s all.”

Miguel bit his lip, wondering once again how Keiko could be so oblivious to the situation with Sam and Shiro. And, since there was nobody else around, he thought it would be a good moment to clarify the situation.

“Sam is dating your brother”, he whispered quietly, as if it was a shameful secret.

Keiko rolled her eyes and lowered her voice too. “You have to be shitting me… Shiro?”

“How many brothers do you have?”

“Only one. And I’m one hundred per cent sure Sam is not his type.”

“Why, what does his type look like?”

Keiko pressed her lips shut in a thin line. She would have loved to draw the boy out of his mistake, but… that was a secret she couldn’t reveal, not even to a close friend. Not even if  keeping Shiro’s secret safe cost Miguel a misunderstanding with his ex-girlfriend.

_Funny that Miguel asks about my brother’s type... The boyfriend Shiro had in Cleveland looked a bit like him._

“I really can’t tell you. You’re going to have to trust me on this one, Mig. I know those two are not a thing… just don’t ask me why.”

“Sorry, but that’s not enough. And now it doesn’t matter anyway, I already gave my word to Maria.”

“Your word? Oh, congratulations on your engagement, Mr. Darcy!”

“What?”

“Nothing”, she laughed. “You know, it’s actually funny when you think of it. That Committee lady said this morning that we should make an effort to get together with new people… and what’s happening is exactly that. Or a version of it. We should go and congratulate her for giving us the idea.”

“Congratulate who?” asked a voice behind her.

Miguel turned around and frowned. A few yards away, looking definitely cross, stood his bitter rival… and Keiko’s new hookup.

“The All Valley people”, answered Keiko, trying in a not too subtle way to stand between the two boys. “For getting us talking to each other.”

“Some people are doing more than just talking”, Miguel observed.

“And how is that any of your business?” asked Robby, with his eyes fixed on the Cobra boy.

“At least this time you’re not inserting yourself in the middle or a couple, Keene. That’s a huge improvement for you, dude.”

“Yeah?” asked Robby, his fists starting to clench against his will. “Does that Krunch girl know how _adorable_ you become when you’re jealous… dude? You better tell her to start working on her defence moves.”

“Why don’t you go and tell her? She’ll probably listen to you… you’ve made everybody believe you’re a fucking saint!”

“Okay, enough of the pissing contest, you two!” said Keiko, raising her voice a bit more than she intended, and putting a hand on Robby’s arm. “Robby, we agreed that us being in different dojos wouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Right”, said the boy, trying to keep his cool while still staring daggers at Miguel.

“And Mig, if you don’t stop this nonsense right now I swear the next time we spar together you won’t even know what hit you. And I’m not speaking in metaphors.”

“Fine”, he said in a sheepish tone, taking a step back. “Don’t worry, I’ll get out of your hair… I’m going to the lake to see Maria.”

“Awesome. One would think the largest park in the Valley would be big enough for you two to exist in it at the same time”, said Keiko, grabbing Robby’s hand.

Miguel started walking away. A moment later he turned around, mostly to check if the other boy was following him, and caught the couple in the middle of an improvised (and very eager) makeout session.

“I did _not_ need to see that, Spike!” he shouted, grinning. He didn’t want any more trouble with Robby, but the chance to tease Keiko a little was too good to waste.

“Spike?” Robby asked, staring at Keiko.

“A new nickname Mig and Hawk are trying on me. Don’t worry, it’s never gonna happen.”

“Well, I can see where it comes from…”

“Hey! Cut it, prodigy. I said I didn’t like it”, she replied, giving him a poke on the ribs.

“Well, I don’t like that you’re friends with Skunk Hair.”

“I never said Hawk was my friend. He’s just a guy who happens to be in the same dojo as me. But even if we were friends… you and I have been together for five minutes, Keene. Are you trying to control me already?”

“Chill out, Spike; I only said I didn’t like the jerk. I’m not trying to control shit… you’re too whiny for that.”

“That’s not what you said when we were in the shed.”

Robby rolled his eyes. “You always need to have the last word, don’t you?”

“See?” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I knew you were clever… we just met and you already know me better than most people.”

“I’m starting to regret it”, Robby joked. “By the way… maybe we should go talk to your brother, together. If news keep spreading, he’ll find out before the day is over, and I don’t want him to get angry with you. Or with me. It’s better if we go and explain ourselves calmly.”

“Wow”, Keiko whispered, observing his face closely. “You really are a knight in shining armor… and, for once, you’re absolutely right. Come, let’s go give Shiro the happy news.”

* * *

  
Meanwhile, Daniel was trying very hard not to worry. And failing.

It wasn’t because anything bad had happened; everything that could have gone right at the excursion had, indeed, gone right. And he was grateful for that, once he shook off the feeling of impending doom that always accompanied him when Cobra Kai was involved. But… what was really bothering him was Amanda’s choice of friendships.

He knew she’d never been comfortable hanging out with the hardcore karate moms, the ones who only lived to obsess over the next tournament. Since the LaRussos had never had a horse in the All Valley race, so to speak, Amanda’s competitive side was kind of dormant. She was always polite to the parents, nice to the Committee people… but she could have been watching the Thanksgiving Day parade instead of a tournament. She never took karate too seriously, but Daniel didn’t mind because karate was _his_ thing.

Now he observed his wife from afar. She was sitting on a bench, eating a popsicle and talking to Kate. Talking… and laughing, as if they had suddenly become best friends, and Daniel started to fear the consequences of said friendship. His mind started showing him images of awkward dinners, uncomfortable barbecues at the LaRusso residence… and, if worse came to worst, double dates. All events where he would have to endure Johnny’s presence and manners (or lack thereof), just because Amanda had decided that, of all the karate moms in the Valley, Kate was the one she liked best.

Just the thought of it made Daniel’s stomach do a little turn. What could they possibly be talking about?

* * *

  
“So… you think we should tell them?” asked Kate in a low voice. “I don’t like spreading gossip, but at the same time I think at least a few responsible adults should know.”

Amanda took a little bite of her popsicle (that was starting to give her tongue an orange tinge) and nodded.

“You know, if there’s anything I realized last year is that secrets have a tendency to come to light in the worst possible moment. Like when Daniel and Johnny went to our home dojo and found Robby there.”

“That was some awful timing… poor boy.”

“It was a mess for everybody; I thought Daniel was going to have a stroke”, said Amanda, remembering how distressed her husband had been the night before the tournament. “So… yes, I think the best solution would be to tell them before the day is over. Or before any of them bumps into the kids and freaks out.”

Kate bit her lip, still not completely sure.

“I’m worried about Johnny’s reaction, honestly. Earlier today I asked Robby to talk to him, and he promised he would… Now I hope Johnny doesn’t use that conversation to scold him. They’ve been making some progress, but another fight right now could set them apart again.”

“That’s why I think it will be better if they learn about Robby and Keiko from us, in a more controlled environment.”

“You mean with us playing referee.”

“They won’t dare to act up if we’re present”, said Amanda with a wink.

Kate let out a little laugh. “Sometimes it feels as if the children are the adults… and vice versa.”

“Sometimes it’s exactly like that”, said Amanda, taking the popsicle wrapper to the nearest bin. “So, are we ready? Daniel is over there, I’ll make sure he doesn’t run away while you go fetch your boy.”

“What, right now?”

“No time like the present!”

With those words, Amanda waved to Daniel and started walking towards him. Kate saw her talking to her husband with a cheerful face… like preparing him for the bit of bad news that was coming. She also saw Johnny sitting at one of the picnic tables, flanked by Miguel’s grandmother on one side and Bert’s parents on the other.

“Hi! Is everybody having fun?” she asked, going to sit beside him.

“Oh, yeah”, answered Johnny. “Skylar and Harmony were just telling me everything about their idea to combine karate with yoga, and create a whole new martial art.”

Kate raised an eyebrow and looked at Johnny’s mildly panicked face. Spread over the table in front of Bert’s parents were several pieces of paper with drawings of yoga poses, scribbled mantras… and even a round thing that looked like the design for a new logo.

“I think I arrived in the right moment to rescue you”, she whispered in his ear.

“Hell, yeah. Take me away from this fucking nightmare… please”, he answered in the same hushed tone.

Seeing a golden opportunity, Kate took him by the arm.

“Harmony, do you mind if I steal him for a moment? We won’t be long, I promise.”

Without waiting for an answer she walked away, taking Johnny with her.

“Where are you taking me, babe?” he asked, relieved.

“There’s something Amanda and I need to tell you… It won’t be the most pleasant surprise in the world, but it’s important. And in any case it will be preferably to Harmony’s plans for the new and improved Cobra Kai yoga studio.”

“Amanda? LaRusso’s wife?” he asked, a bit startled. “Wait a second, what are you two…?”

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Amanda walking towards them, with Daniel in tow. She had the same conspiratory air around her as Kate, and Johnny wondered what the two women could have been planning. Daniel, on the other hand, looked quite pissed off… And that made Johnny feel a little better.

“Well, look who’s here!” said Amanda, feigning surprise. “Just the two people I wanted to see!”

Daniel stared at Johnny, and then back at his wife, in complete confusion.

“Amanda, if this is your idea of a joke…”

“Actually, this is rather serious”, she answered. “Sorry to make you two share the same space, boys, but there’s something important you need to know.”

Then it was Johnny’s turn to look at Kate with a question in his eyes.

“Are you going to make us wear a get-along shirt or something? Babe… it’s not gonna work. I’ve done my best to avoid this asshole all day, but…”

“Watch that language, Johnny”, Daniel interrupted. “There are ladies present, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Ladies swear too, you know. They’re people, LaRusso, not blushing flowers.”

“Peace, please!” Kate intervened. “If you two were your students’ age I would totally make you wear that get-along shirt… but right now I’d settle for you listening to us for a minute. Okay?”

The two men nodded, holding each other’s gaze.

“Good”, stated Amanda. “Daniel, you said from the start that the goal of this meetup was that the kids from different dojos could get to know one another, right?”

“Yes, of course”, he said, wondering why Amanda was bringing that up. “That’s why the All Valley Committee organized all this. Broadening the kids’ horizons, encouraging new friendships… You know the speech, you heard George ramble about it for thirty minutes this morning.”

Kate waited until Amanda nodded at her, and continued where the other woman had left off.

“Right. The only problem is, there’s at least one case where the… _friendship_ has gone beyond what everybody expected. I’m afraid we have a Romeo and Juliet situation.”

Johnny stared at Kate, puzzled, but Daniel was quicker to put two and two together.

“Oh, great. It’s Samantha again, right?” he asked, rolling his eyes. “I knew she would be back with that little punk any day… Damn, I knew coming here today was a bad idea!”

“Have some respect, LaRusso. His name is Miguel, not ‘that punk’”, interrupted Johnny.

Kate put a hand on Johnny’s arm. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, please. Anyway, it’s not them… It’s Robby and Keiko.”

“What?”

“I went to the storage shed to get the volleyball net before the match… and I found them there, making out.”

Johnny muttered a curse under his breath. “Shit. Of all the girls he could have messed up with, and he goes for a Cobra Kai. This isn’t going to end well.”

“That’s not for us to decide”, said Amanda. “They’re both old enough to–”

“Bullshit!” Johnny spat.

“Old enough? That’s a joke!” Daniel groaned, almost at the same time.

Amanda stopped talking and crossed her arms, glaring at the two men for interrupting her.

“Thank you for your _constructive_ criticism, boys! Look, whatever you tell your respective students during the class is none of my business… But I don’t think intruding in their private lives is a part of your job description as karate teachers”, she continued. “I guess you were right, Kate… I should have expected this reaction.”

Kate stepped closer to Johnny. Out of the two men, he looked the most shocked… with good reason. It was an uncomfortable situation that affected both his student and his son.

“Johnny, we’re not telling you this to create even more conflict between Robby and you. Or between Daniel and you…”

“As if there wasn’t enough already”, he interrupted her.

“I know”, she continued, in a soft voice. “But you can’t keep young people from dating if that’s what they want. If Robby and Keiko really like each other, it’s fine! On the other hand, if they’re doing this just because they think it’s fun to… to dance with the enemy, so to speak, and to provoke a reaction in any of you, the smartest thing is to let them be. Don’t give it any importance, don’t even mention that they’re together. Ignore the drama and they’ll stop acting up.”

“If you forbid them to see each other, it will have the opposite effect”, Amanda agreed. “I only met Shiro’s sister today, but from what her brother tells me she can be very single-minded.”

“Stubborn as a mule”, Johnny said. “Once that girl sets her mind on something, there’s no stopping her.”

“And we all know Robby is also very headstrong, and very good at keeping secrets. I say we let the relationship run its course, without making a mountain out of it.”

“That makes a certain amount of sense”, said Daniel, still hesitant.

“Yeah, it could work”, Johnny added, reaching for Kate’s hand. “How are you so clever, roller girl?”

“Well, Rani is only eight”, she answered. “It’s easy to keep a cool head about this when I don’t have any teenagers of my own. And I wouldn’t worry too much about the little punk, Daniel… I saw him a moment ago having a little tête-à-tête with a girl from Krunch Karate. They seemed very friendly.”

“Way to go, Diaz”, Johnny whispered, smirking.

Daniel threw him a sideways glance, but he didn’t say anything. He had lost enough arguments in one day, and he knew when to admit defeat… even in front of Johnny.

“Good. Now that everything’s out in the open, I’m going to check on Anthony… our son has been making friends and playing sports, can you believe it?” said Amanda, giving her husband a wink.

Daniel managed to flash a smile that didn’t look too forced.

“And I have to see Harmony, she’s making a list of people for the new yoga group she’s starting next week, and I don’t want to be left out”, added Kate, checking her watch, and keeping an eye on her boyfriend in case he had any last minute objections. “Johnny, can you pick up Rani from the playground and take her to the skate park? It’s almost time for her lesson with Robby… I’ll be there in ten minutes, I promise.”

“Sure, babe. I’ll take care of Rattler.”

She gave Johnny a quick kiss, waved goodbye to Amanda, who was also walking away in the opposite direction, and left the two men alone.

* * *

  
_Miguel and Maria_  
_Sitting in a tree_  
_K-I-S-S-I-N-G!_  
_First comes love_  
_Then comes marriage_  
_Then comes baby_  
_In a…_

Samantha covered her ears with her hands and moaned, trying to ignore the singing children. The Krunch dojo had a surprisingly high amount of little boys and girls, mostly because their Sensei’s wife was an elementary school teacher and she knew how to do recruitment. Between one game and the next, several of those children had found out that their most popular girl was fooling around with the All Valley champion… And, apparently, they felt like the happy occasion deserved a song.

As she walked away from the irritating sound, Sam saw her mother in the distance, alone. She had the sudden urge to run towards Amanda, give her a hug and cry a little; but the rational side of her mind reminded her that she had zero reasons to be moody. Girl meets boy, girl dates boy, boy acts like a jerk, girl leaves boy… the logical conclusion being that girl has no right to feel any kind of ownership over boy.

That was the way things worked. In theory.

Amanda, on her part, was a very perceptive woman. It would have been hard to stay married to Daniel for eighteen years without developing a sensitivity to the trademark LaRusso mood swings… and she was starting to see one in Sam, even from afar.

“Everything okay, sweetie?” she asked, putting a hand around her daughter’s shoulders. “You must be exhausted after that match… I’m starting to think I should have enrolled you in a volleyball program when you were little, instead of letting your Dad train you. You did a really great job on the court!”

Samantha smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Thanks, Mom. I’m not too tired… although I’ll be happy when we get home, I’m starting to feel a headache. But don’t worry, I won’t bolt out again like I did at the tournament.”

Amanda observed her daughter’s face closely. “I’ve seen that face before. Is it because of that Cobra Kai boy, again?”

“No!” Sam answered quickly. “Well… maybe. I don’t know.”

“What happened, honey? I thought you were the one who broke up with him… and that you two had agreed on being just friends.”

“Yes, but I just saw him with another girl, and… I’m just being stupid. Don’t mind me, Mom.”

Amanda crossed her arms and sighed.

“Don’t let your father hear this, but if you were a couple of years older I’d give you a wine cooler right now. Since you’re not, this will have to do”, she said, offering her a popsicle. “I hope it helps, we’re all out of brownies.”

“Thanks”, muttered Sam, picking up the frozen snack. “Hey, where’s Dad? And where’s Anthony? I haven’t seen them all afternoon.”

“Anthony is at the cafeteria in the sports center, with a couple of All Star boys; there’s an old pinball machine there, they’ve been playing for hours. And your Dad… He had something to discuss with somebody. I’ll tell you at home.”

“Okay”, Sam agreed. She sat beside Amanda, rested her head on her mother’s shoulder, like she had done hundreds of times when she was a little girl, and closed her eyes.

* * *

  
The silence between the two men was tense. Almost angry.

Now that Kate and Amanda had left, the matter was formally solved… but for some reason Daniel and Johnny stayed in the clearing, glaring daggers at each other. As if none of them wanted to be the first to turn his back.

After several seconds of this staring contest, Johnny started to shuffle away. “Well, it was nice to chat, LaRusso… but I have better things to do than look at your sour face. Peace out.”

He hadn’t taken even one step away, when Daniel’s voice grated in his ears.

“Great, run away like you always do, Johnny. This mess with the kids is all your fault”, he said between gritted teeth.

“Yeah, sure”, Johnny quipped, turning towards Daniel. “And what else is my fault, that global warming shit? You’re the one who sells cars, that one’s on you.”

“Very funny. For your information, my sales of electric and hybrid cars have skyrocketed this year. I’m even thinking of getting a Tesla for myself… and I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

“Because you want to brag about the Tesla?” Johnny asked with a half-smile.

“I’m not bragging, okay? It’s better for the environment.”

“Right. So now global warming is the poor people’s fault for not being able to afford fancy cars.”

Daniel paced up and down the grass for a few seconds.

“Why do you always do that, Johnny? Twist everything I say, everything I do? Why is so important to you that I’m suddenly the bad guy in every situation?”

“I just want you to get out of my way”, Johnny said, rolling his eyes. “But every time I turn my back I see you, meddling with my students. Or with my dojo, or with my son. Fuck, you even tried to get Kate and Rattler away from me! You think I wouldn’t find out about Rattler’s visit to your little karate joint? It almost made Kate break up with me… you can be proud of that one.”

“That was obviously not my intention”, Daniel answered, blushing a little. “I didn’t know Kate was Rani’s mother until this morning… and please stop using that absurd nickname on the girl. She’s a human being, not a snake.”

“She likes it. That girl belongs in Cobra Kai.”

“You’re brainwashing her.”

“Not for you to decide, LaRusso. She has a mother for that.”

Daniel huffed. As much as he’d had loved to keep insisting on the Rani thing, he knew the little girl would never want to change dojos now… and Kate would never allow it, in any case.

“And what are you going to do with the Keiko Yashida situation?”

“What do you _want_ me to do? You heard the ladies… saying anything to her or to Robby will make it worse. And if you don’t believe me, I’d love to see you try.”

Daniel’s hands clenched into fists; he had to make an effort to breathe deep and think.

“Really, of all the girls from all the dojos in the Valley…” he muttered, almost to himself, before facing Johnny again. “Today was supposed to be a day for… oh, you heard the speech too, games and harmless fun. I was the one who had the idea for this blasted excursion! I gave my students one very simple instruction for the day… and they’ve ignored it, thanks to your little Cobras.”

“Is that the hill you want to die on? Two kids who are supposed to be enemies making out in a dark corner, and not obeying your stupid rule?”

“How do I know this wasn’t your doing, Johnny? That you didn’t ask Shiro’s sister to come on to Robby and distract him?”

“Cut the bullshit, man, you’re bad-mouthing a fifteen year-old girl!” said Johnny, making a disgusted face. “And Robby’s not a saint, no matter how highly you think of him. He’s a chip off the old block, of course the babes want to get in his pants.”

“Classy as always”, snickered Daniel. “Anyway, if that girl knew what’s good for her she should have come to Miyagi-Do, like her brother.”

“She wouldn’t like your pansy training style. That girl’s a Cobra, she’s too tough for that.”

“That ‘pansy’ style was good enough to defeat you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, well, times change”, Johnny said, not wanting to talk about his tournament defeat. “There are a couple of kids in my Cobra Kai who could have kicked both our asses in 1984. And a couple of yours, too… I’ve seen the way Robby fights. Most of it is genetics, of course, but I have to admit he’s learned some cool moves.”

“Thanks.”

“Anyway, if the girls say we should let Robby and Keiko alone, that’s what we’re gonna do. I trust Kate’s advice… she’s a smart cookie, and not just because she’s a lawyer.”

Daniel snickered under his breath. Johnny Lawrence yielding so fast to a woman’s opinion was nothing short of unexpected.

“How did you and Kate… how did that happen, anyway?” he asked, letting his natural curiosity get the better of him. “I mean… I don’t see you two having a lot of things in common. Apart from Rani and her karate lessons, of course.”

“If you mean Kate is out of my league, I could say the same of your wife, so watch your mouth.”

“Calm down, I never meant she’s out of your league! I just… I just think she doesn’t look like your type, that’s all.”

Johnny frowned, thinking for a moment that the ‘type’ thing was supposed to be about Ali. It wasn’t a topic he wanted to discuss; not there, and absolutely not with Daniel. He suddenly realized, with no little surprise, that he hadn’t thought about Ali in months, since the Facebook thing that day at the bar… Now that he thought about it, it felt kind of disrespectful towards Kate, to keep musing about the one who got away. He was about to ask Daniel why he was redirecting the conversation towards their high school ex-girlfriend, but something in the other man’s eyes made Johnny see the light and smirk.

“Oh, of course! You’ve met Shannon.”

Daniel bit his lip, reviving the embarrassment of his conversation with Robby’s mother. “Only in passing… I mean, only on the phone. Lovely woman.”

“I wouldn’t use that word, but suit yourself. Did she try to flirt with you...?” asked Johnny with a sideways smile. “Don’t tell me, of course she did; she loves going after rich fucks like you. Do your wife a favor and stay away from Shannon, dude. She’s bad news.”

“Now you’re being catty just for the sake of it. I only called her to talk about Robby.”

Daniel realized the conversation was going to take a sour turn when he saw the way Johnny’s face darkened. It hadn’t been his intention to mention Robby’s living situation, and now he was regretting bringing it up.

“I bet you turned all your sleazy salesman charm on her”, said Johnny in a strained voice. “I bet by the end of the talk she thought sending Robby to live with you was her idea.”

Daniel realized he was fidgeting, and put his hands in his pockets. He could deal with an irrationally angry Johnny Lawrence without batting a lash, but he hadn’t really stopped to consider that the other man could feel really hurt about the situation with his son.

“Come on… it’s the best for him”, he whispered, trying to sound more sure of himself than he really was. “And it’s only for a few weeks…”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re making every day count. How many times have you told him your version of what happened on our senior year?” Johnny spat. “How many more lies are you going to feed him while he’s living the Encino life and getting used to being a rich kid? Let’s be honest, if Shannon didn’t exist you would have adopted Robby already… You’d do anything to get my son away from me.”

“Robby came to me!” Daniel replied, almost in a pleading tone. “He applied for a job at the dealership of his own accord; I had no idea who he was until the night before the tournament… you already know that.”

“Yeah, you keep repeating that, and I’m supposed to believe everything that comes out of your mouth. You’re very good at claiming ignorance, LaRusso, but there will come a day when it won’t work anymore.”

Daniel kept his gaze fixed on the ground. If Johnny didn’t believe him, there was nothing he could do about it… but being branded as a liar still hurt his pride.

“Looks like your students are having fun today”, he said. It was a clumsy attempt to change the topic and make Johnny feel at ease, but he hoped it would work. “They’ve taken up with children from all the other dojos. You must be proud of them.”

Johnny looked away, at a clearing among the trees where a large group of kids were sitting in a circle, playing a card game. It was too easy to spot the Cobra Kai with their bright yellow t-shirts.

“Don’t bother with compliments, I know you think they’re a band of thugs. But they’re good kids, no matter what you say. A bit nerdy… but that’s okay, looks like all kids are nerdy these days.”

“I never said they were a band of _anything_. Can’t you learn how to take a little praise, for goodness’ sake?”

“Fine. You did a good job with the recruiting, too… without stealing students from other dojos. Pity that you couldn’t get any more girls, right? Looks like all the badass ladies in the Valley want to be in Cobra Kai”, Johnny said, pointing at the circle of teenagers. Grace and Sophie were among them, along with Aisha and Keiko… but the rest of the group was made almost entirely of boys.

“I don’t care about my students’ gender. Karate has no gender”, said Daniel, trying not to sound irritated about Miyagi-Do’s virtual lack of girls (well, except for Sam, but she had no choice). “Really, I have absolutely no idea how a dinosaur like you–”

“Aren’t we getting clever with the names, LaRusso…”

“A dinosaur like you has tricked those girls into joining Cobra Kai.”

“Tricks? Like the one you played on me, trying to steal Rattler for your dojo?”

“Again with that? We’ve discussed this already… I had no way of knowing she was your girlfriend’s daughter, alright? It may have been a mistake, but it was an honest mistake.”

Johnny smiled, with his gaze lost in the distance, and Daniel had to admit that he seemed genuinely fond of the child.

“Did she tell you her plan to become the first triple championship winner?” he asked, with a wide grin on his lips.

Daniel huffed again. “The only girl who has ever gotten the All Valley trophy was Angela Karlsson five years ago, and she was a phenomenon… she won several international championships after that. Winning the tournament is hard enough, Johnny, and for a girl it’s almost impossible. Why are you putting those ideas in the poor child’s head? Now Rani is going to train for years… for nothing, and then get disappointed when she doesn’t win the title once.”

“For nothing, my ass. That girl is going to win the All Valley as soon as she’s tall enough to land a kick on her opponent’s head… I’m not sure when that’s going to be, she’s a really small kid. And I didn’t give her the idea, she called herself a future champion the day she walked into Cobra Kai. With a mindset like that, she can’t lose.”

“Yeah… keep dreaming, Johnny.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Bet? On a tournament that won’t happen for… what, seven years?” Daniel shook his head. “You’ll be lucky if Cobra Kai still exists by then. You can’t trick those kids forever.”

“Again with that word. You’re the one with the tricks here, LaRusso. Go talk to any of my Cobras, ask them how things are at my dojo. See the two girlfriends over there, Pride and Joy? All of last year they were ignored, or laughed at, or bullied at school. But the door of Cobra Kai was open for them.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow, surprised at the words coming from Johnny’s mouth. “When did you become so… so woke?”

Johnny smiled. Catching Daniel off guard was always a nice confidence boost.

“If you’re throwing that word at me thinking I don’t know what it means, you’re wrong.”

It was true. A couple of weeks before, Grace and Sophie had spent a good half an hour after class instructing Johnny in the basic aspects of woke culture. It had been a bit of a shock to him: there were a couple of things he didn’t like, and a few more he didn’t understand, so that same evening he’d gone to see Kate and asked all kinds of questions. Kate, of course, had answered every asinine doubt with a very straight face… although there had been a few raised eyebrows when he’d asked about trans-exclusive rational feminists, or whatever the hell they were called.

“Yeah, you’re Mr. Progressive now, I heard Sue’s speech about ‘LGBTQ youth’ this morning”, said Daniel. “The Committee may have swallowed your lies, but I know you’d do anything to get more students, even fooling those girls into thinking you’re a tolerant person.”

“One of those girls was bullied out of her sports team for being with another girl. And the other was so shy when she arrived that she couldn’t even look at people in the eye. I’m not fooling anybody... I’m just treating them like any other kid in my class. They’re all Cobras to me, I don’t care who they’re smooching when the class is over.”

“Very enlightened”, Daniel snickered. “If it wasn’t for what I saw at the tournament, I’d start to believe Cobra Kai has really changed.”

“Kids get all psyched up at tournaments, it’s the adrenaline. I already gave Miguel and Hawk a lecture on that”, Johnny said, reluctantly admitting that his students had been in the wrong. “Remember Bobby Brown? He was the most strait-laced guy I’ve ever known, always doing the right thing… and our Sensei talked him into wrecking your knee. Took him less than a minute.”

Daniel rubbed his bad leg absentmindedly. He’d been left with a permanent reminder of that fight… he felt it every time the weather changed.

“Bobby came over to apologize, you know. The first day of school after Christmas break. How weird, I remember it as if it was yesterday… He couldn’t stop crying, I’ve never seen anyone look so sad”, Daniel recalled, with his eyes closed. “Do you know what became of him?”

“He’s a soccer coach now. And he married Barbara.”

“Really? Ali’s friend? Wow, I thought nobody actually married their high school sweethearts. Anyway… I’d never rejoice in anybody’s death, Johnny, but I’m glad Kreese is not around to do that kind of things anymore.”

A heavy silence fell over the scene. Johnny lowered his eyes; he also looked deathly pale, and Daniel wondered why was he having that reaction, when Kreese had probably been dead for decades. Could he finally be feeling remorse about letting his old teacher manipulate him, and the other Cobra boys?

“Look, I have to go”, Johnny said abruptly, pointing to the playground. “To pick up Rattler.”

“Yes, I heard. Hey, good luck with Robby”, Daniel added, remembering that Johnny had an impending conversation with his son. “I haven’t been telling him anything about you, okay? He’s a great boy; I’m not trying to manipulate him, no matter what you think.”

“Yeah, fine. Goodbye, LaRusso… See you around, I guess.”

Daniel frowned. Both the topic switch and Johnny’s exit seemed too sudden, as if he’d wanted to avoid talking about his old teacher, but Daniel couldn’t really blame him for that. He knew perfectly well how easy it was to reopen old wounds… he still refused to talk about his own Kreese-related traumas with anyone. Not even Amanda knew what had happened with Kreese, Barnes and Silver in 1985; it was the only secret he’d never shared with her.

With a deep sigh he looked around him, listening to the sound of distant voices all around the park. The afternoon was half gone… and he had to admit that the day, save for some small mishaps, had been a success. He was about to go back to Amanda and Sam, when he had the distinct feeling that someone was observing him, like a pair of eyes burning into the back of his head.

He turned around and saw Kate, leaning against a bench with two plastic cups in her hands. It wasn’t easy for Daniel to read her expression; lawyers were professional liars, after all… a bit like car salesmen. He wondered how long she’d been there.

“Eh… hi. If you’re looking for Johnny, he just went to the skate park”, he muttered, making a vague gesture in the direction where Johnny had left.

“I know. I want to give him and Robby some time to talk before I join them”, she said, sitting on the bench and offering him one of the coffee cups. “Frappuccino? I got it for Harmony, but she forgot to tell me she only drinks vegetable milk. It would be a shame if it went to waste… and I can’t have both of these or I’ll jump to hypersonic speed.”

Daniel sat on the bench and accepted the spare cup.

“Thanks. As a matter of fact, I kinda have to talk to you.”

“Well, isn’t that a surprise, Daniel… I’m all ears.”

 


	30. Sundown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the excursion comes to an end. Daniel and Kate learn a bit more about each other, while Johnny has a little talk with his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, finally at the end of this huge six-chapter arc (it was going to be four chapters in the beginning, but you know me and my river of words). This one is not very exciting, just people talking to people...  
> I'm planning a few surprises for the last part of the story, but we're not there yet. The next huge event will be Johnny's school reunion in chapter 32. Who is excited to see the old Cobra boys?

CHAPTER 30. SUNDOWN

“So… what did you want to tell me, Daniel?”

They had been sitting in silence for a while, and Kate felt that somebody should start talking. On one hand, she didn’t especially enjoy the awkwardness of the situation… and, on the other, she wanted to join Johnny and Rani at the skate park.

Daniel sipped his coffee and cleared his throat a couple of times.

“Look, I… I’m sorry about this morning, again. It wasn’t fair to accuse Johnny like that without having all the facts. It’s no excuse, but I blame the lack of caffeine: I had decaf for breakfast by mistake.”

“Oh, decaf is the source of every evil”, laughed Kate, before turning serious again. “I guess you can’t help thinking the worst of Johnny all the time.”

“Force of habit. I had nightmares with him and his buddies in high school… that kind of thing doesn’t go away easily.”

Kate sighed. She knew Johnny hadn’t been a saint in high school… to put it mildly. But she still didn’t like it when someone said it out loud, even if it was the truth.

“You know what’s funny...?” she said, with a sad smile. “Johnny and I are together because of _you_. If you hadn’t pulled that stunt with his rent, he wouldn’t have hired me as his lawyer, and… I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re even.”

“Thank you.”

“But you’re still not my favorite person.”

“I understand that.”

“Just out of curiosity… why are you so high strung all the time? Why this fixation on being everybody’s savior?”

Her words reminded Daniel, for the second time that day, of something Amanda had said once: _Not everybody needs your help. Not everybody needs to be rescued._

“You think Cobra Kai is just another dojo, Kate, but… you have no idea what it was like back then, nor the kind of man that was at the helm. John Kreese was a downright psychopath, there’s no other way to describe him.”

“But that’s the point… he _was_. That man is not around anymore, Daniel. And, for what I’ve heard, Johnny is nothing like him.”

“Johnny is turning those boys… and even worse, those girls… into ruthless soldiers. That’s exactly the kind of thing Kreese did with him and his friends. You heard how Johnny’s little Cobras behaved at the tournament.”

“Yes. And I don’t approve of it, of course. Johnny had a talk with Miguel and Eli after the tournament, Daniel; a serious talk. Maybe they got carried away, but they’re not bad boys. And Aisha tells me that both of them spent several months last year being harassed by a group of boys at school. That sort of thing can make people react badly.”

“Yeah, don’t I know it.”

Daniel bit his lip and stared into the depths of his coffee cup. He remembered exactly the kind of things a bullied boy could do if he listened to the wrong people. Maybe Kreese was dead, and Terry Silver hadn’t set foot in California for decades, but their memory was too painful to disappear.

Lost in thought, he suddenly realized Kate’s lips were moving.

“Sorry… sorry, I was distracted. You were saying…?”

“Robby”, she said in a soft voice. “Do you really think it’s healthy for him to train in a dojo that aims to put his father out of business?”

“Nobody forced him to train with me. And I stand by my  principles, Kate: Cobra Kai may have been a blessing for some of those kids, but… as a concept, it should not exist. Sorry to be so blunt.”

“I just hope there won’t be any more legal shenanigans this year. You’re a Committee member, a tournament sponsor… and now, on top of that, a dojo owner. The All Valley tournament receives public money every year, things should be kept absolutely transparent… I’d hate to have to bring the matter to the Los Angeles City Ethics Commision”, she said in a casual tone.

“Johnny is lucky that you’re a lawyer”, Daniel smirked, making mental note of the veiled warning. “The answer is no, of course. I’ve learned my lesson… I only want to take Cobra Kai out in good sportsmanship, there will be no… no shenanigans of any kind.”

“Thank you. I’m still worried about Robby, though. I know I just met him today, but I can see he’s got Johnny’s temper… and a lot of resentment towards him. That’s not a good combination.”

Daniel let out a deep sigh. Why did lawyers always have to be so… so subtle in their threats?

“I’m not feeding that resentment, if that’s what you’re implying.”

Kate made a strategic pause. Just a few seconds of silence, destined to make Daniel uneasy.

“Whatever you say. But… the thing is, the boy is completely dependent on you now. At work, when he trains… he’s even living at your house. You can see how that looks from where I stand.”

“Robby’s mother will be back next week. Or maybe two weeks from now, she is a bit…” he interrupted himself; none of the adjectives that came to his mind sounded remotely polite.

“Unreliable?” offered Kate.

“Yes! Thank you.” He propped himself forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Why didn’t you meet Johnny a year ago? Your presence could have saved me a lot of headaches.”

Kate laughed at the sheer absurdity of the question.

“From what I’ve heard of Johnny’s life before I met him… I don’t think we would have liked each other very much a year ago. And, even if we did, I don’t dictate his actions. His life had already changed when he met me; Johnny dug himself out of a very deep hole, and he did that completely on his own. I can’t claim any merit.”

“Right.”

“Besides, a year ago I lived in San Francisco. I hadn’t moved to Reseda yet.”

“To South Seas. That’s where you and Rani live, right?”

“Exactly.”

“Did Johnny tell you that I used to live there when I first came to the Valley, thirty-five years ago?”

“He did”, said Kate, nodding. “It’s a weird coincidence, but nothing unheard of… it was the third apartment I saw, and the first one I liked. There’s nothing extraordinary to it.”

“Still, I don’t fully understand it”, said Daniel, narrowing his eyes. “Why Reseda, of all places? I know it’s nicer now than it was in the eighties, but… honestly, you could do much better than that.”

Kate arched an eyebrow. “You’re supposed to be a self-made man. Why the snobbism? Forgive me for saying this, but it looks like you’re overcompensating for your modest childhood.”

“I’m not going to apologize for having a nice house and a good car. I just want the people I love to be happy. And safe. I’ve always wanted to give my family the best things in life, and now I’m finally able to do it.”

“The best things in life are free, Daniel. Look over there”, she said, pointing at a group of boys and girls who were playing dodgeball. Running, catching the ball, falling to the ground every now and then… And laughing, sometimes laughing so hard that they had to stop running and catch their breath. “You can’t buy that.”

“You want your daughter to have a good life and a good education, right?” he retorted. “Those things cost money.”

“Let me tell you a little story: a few months ago, when we moved here, I sold my apartment in San Francisco, for more than twice of what it cost me back in the day. I’m sure you’re aware of how the housing market in San Francisco has skyrocketed in the last years… Mine was in the Civic Center area; just do the math.”

“An apartment in Civic Center? That’s… wow. That has to be some serious money.”

“It is. I could buy a small house in Encino with that, or a luxury condo. I could send Rani to a private school… I could even buy her a pony. But instead I put the money in a fund for her college, because that’s not what I want for her… I don’t think she would be happier living like that. Besides, we’re already settled in Reseda. It’s close to my job, to Rani’s school, and we already have good neighbors and good friends there”, she shrugged.

“And Johnny. Is he the reason you want to keep living there?”

Kate tilted her head to the side.

“Now you’re implying he’s not good enough for me.”

“Well, you’re a cultured and intelligent woman; you could be with… I mean… come on, Johnny didn’t even finish college!”

“There’s the snob again”, she said with a frown. “Where did _you_ go to college, Daniel? I’ve never heard you mention it.”

“Eh… I didn’t. But that was different, I used the money for setting up a business.”

“Good for you! See? College is great… but some things are more important than getting a formal education, and I don’t think less of Johnny for not having one. One day it’s going to be the subject of a very interesting conversation with my parents: they look down on anybody without at least a Master’s degree. But, for now… it doesn’t worry me.”

“Sorry if I sounded snarky about the college thing. I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s okay, Daniel. Really.”

“You know… I think I’m a little jealous that South Seas is so nice now. You even have a functioning pool, I would have killed for one when my mother and I moved here. That place was a dump.”

“I would invite you and Amanda to the pool, but I don’t think Johnny would take it well. Better leave it for another occasion.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to poke that bear. Maybe we can all go to the country club one day instead…  Johnny went there a lot in the eighties, he knows the place.”

“I don’t go to country clubs”, said Kate, frowning. “They’re outdated and elitist remains of another era.”

Daniel arched his eyebrows and whistled.

“Wow. That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think? It’s nothing like that… just a place where people can go meet their friends. There are several pools, gardens, a great children’s area… You can bring Rani, I’m sure she’ll have fun.”

“Bring Rani? So all the rich white kids can look down on her? I don’t think so.”

Daniel lowered his head, wondering what could have Kate have such strong opinions about a place that was (to him, at least) perfectly innocent. At last, he had an idea.

“I’m thinking you’re also a bit of a snob, Kate. A _reverse_ snob. You’re probably making six figures, but you choose to live in the more run-down neighborhood in the Valley, you drive a cheap car…”

“I object to you calling my Toyota cheap. That little machine is very reliable.”

“I’m just saying it looks like you’re pretending to be working class, to… blend with your surroundings. What I don’t know is why.”

“And I don’t make six figures”, she kept protesting. “Well.. not unless I get a really good bonus at the end of this year. And I’ll have to work my ass off for it.”

“I never said you didn’t work hard.”

“I also had to work during college… my parents are academics, and teaching doesn’t pay much. Yes, I may be a reverse snob, I admit it. There are worse things a person can be. But you don’t have the monopoly of trying to build a better life for yourself, Daniel. We’re all doing that… each one of us in our own way. Including Johnny.”

“Johnny only reopened Cobra Kai out of spite.”

“Oh, yes, spite can be a very powerful motivator. Just ask Robby, I’m sure he could give you a lesson on that... Didn’t he start working for you to hurt his father?”

Daniel lowered his head. As much as he wished that Robby's motives had been pure and unselfish, Kate was right on that one.

“Yes. But what really matters is the goal, not the starting point. Robby has changed.”

“Of course. The Lawrence boys have the ability to change… both of them”, said Kate with a little smile.

“We’re never going to reach an agreement on this, I'm afraid”, Daniel said, finishing his coffee. “Nevertheless, I think that… in the future, every time I have a problem with Cobra Kai I’ll talk to you instead of Johnny. At least you _listen_.”

“Well, I never applied to the post of Cobra Kai’s PR manager”, Kate laughed. “But I’ll take the job. Anything to avoid an open fight between you two... for Robby’s sake, at least.”

“For Robby's sake, of course. Thank you, Kate.”

“And now, I really should be going. I have to watch my daughter get on a skateboard for the first time in her life, and my nerves are killing me. See you around, Daniel.”

Daniel took the empty coffee cups to the nearest bin, and waved goodbye to Kate while she walked away.

He suddenly felt very tired.

* * *

  
“That’s it, kiddo! Keep your head high! No, don’t look at your feet… better now. Keep going!”

Johnny observed the scene, trying to keep a straight face. He was sitting on a bench by the skate park, watching Rani’s first ever skating lesson. She wasn’t a natural on the board like she was at karate, but she was doing well so far. Robby had insisted that she put on his elbow and knee pads, which looked absurdly big on her, and the effect was somewhat funny.

But most of the time he looked at Robby. The truth was, he barely recognized his reckless, angry, rebel son in this young man who was patiently teaching a lesson to a little girl. He was all smiles and words of encouragement with her, and Johnny was happy to witness this unexpected side of him.

It felt strange, seeing them together. The son who didn’t care for him and the girl who worshipped him, and who maybe one day would become family too…

Johnny shook his head. Fantasizing about the future usually ended badly for him, and he didn’t want to fall down that rabbit hole again. No matter how much he cared about Kate, the hard truth was that they had been together for three weeks. That was it, three measly weeks since their first date. It felt like much longer, of course, and nobody could deny that what he and Kate had was good. But he couldn’t help thinking he was going to wreck it, somehow. By saying something inappropriate, or doing the wrong thing, or…

Or keeping a secret from Kate for too long.

He snapped out of his thoughts with a bitter smile, and kept observing Robby.

“Now, I want you to go in a straight line all the way to that wall over there. Then do a turn, and come back here. Keep it slow, kiddo, it’s not a race. Do it several times until you get the turns right, okay?”

“Okay, Robby”, answered the girl, setting the skateboard in motion.

In an unexpected move, Robby went to sit beside his father.

“Hey”, he whispered, with his eyes fixed on Rani’s progress.

“Hey”, answered Johnny, relieved that Robby wasn’t looking at him. It was easier this way. “How’s she doing?”

“Good so far. She has good balance and great reflexes... and she’s having fun. Rani is a great kid, Dad.”

“I know.”

“You’re not being too hard on her at the dojo, right? It would be awful if she got hurt.”

“Yeah, no shit. Kate would have my balls on a plate if I let Rattler get hurt. The kid’s going to want to participate in the under-14 tournament next December… and I don’t know how to tell her she’s not ready to fight a bunch of boys who will be twice her size.”

“She’ll be fine. Rani doesn’t get upset when she loses, I saw that. Also, she has a mean kick… I’m sure she’ll do some damage before losing.”

“Did she hit you hard?”

“It still hurts when I think of it”, said Robby, putting a hand to the area right below his sternum. “That girl is ruthless.”

“I had nothing to do with it, she was already ruthless when she arrived.”

Robby chuckled. “She must take after her Mom. I mean, Kate is super nice… but when she saw me with Keiko in the shed, she got super serious and for a moment I was scared of her. But she’s cool.”

“I know what you mean”, said Johnny with a fond smile. “I’ve seen her in court, and it's like she becomes a different person… a scary version of the nice lady everybody sees.”

Robby stared at his Dad.

“So… how did you trick her into going out with you?” he asked with a wink.

Johnny didn’t react for a couple of seconds. It had been several years since his son had felt comfortable enough to take a friendly jab at him.

“What, you think your old man has lost his mojo?” he asked, laughing.

“Nobody uses that word anymore, Dad!”

“All I’m saying is, the Lawrence men have always been good at getting babes. And I could ask you the same question: how did you trick one of my students into going into that shed with you to… to do whatever you did in there until you get caught?”

“Hey, nothing happened”, Robby quipped, trying to look innocent. “And it was Keiko’s idea to...”

“Oh, no. The less I know about that, the better”, said Johnny, raising his hands to stop the boy from talking. “Just remember to treat that girl right or she’ll kick your ass.”

“Maybe I should stay away from karate girls and start dating ballerinas”, Robby joked. “At least I’ll be safe from damage if we argue.”

“Nah, I dated a ballerina once. They have freakishly strong thighs”, said Johnny with a lewd grin.

“Ew, Dad!”

“It was before I met your mother, okay? By the way… she still in Texas?”

“Yes, she’s loving it over there”, Robby sighed, relieved that the topic had steered away from Johnny and his past conquests. “She sent me a picture where she’s riding a horse and herding cows.”

“Holy shit. Cows?”

“I know! At first I thought it was photoshopped.”

“Well… who’d had thought she’d end up being a country girl.”

Robby nodded in silence, still with an eye on Rani and her wobbly attempts at skateboarding. Having a civil conversation with Johnny was still a novelty to him, and he didn’t want to spoil the moment by saying the wrong thing.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure standing a few feet away from them. It was Kate, looking mildly worried when she saw how fast Rani was going.

“Hi, Kate”, greeted the boy, standing up. “So, what do you think?”

“Hi, Robby… well, I’m terrified on the inside, but it looks like Rani is having fun. Thank you for teaching her.”

“Don’t mention it. The kid is a fast learner... not that I’ve ever taught anyone so young to skate before, but I think she’s doing really well.”

Right in that moment, Rani slipped from the board while taking a turn, and landed on her bottom. Kate gasped and took a step towards the girl, but Robby reacted faster.

“I'll go, Kate! It’s just a fall, she needs to learn those too. And she’s wearing my knee pads, see? She’ll be fine.”

Kate sat beside Johnny with a sigh, while Robby ran to the little girl and started giving her tips on what to do when she felt she was going to take a fall.

“I shouldn't be worried, it’s silly”, she said, putting a hand on Johnny’s knee. “I wasn’t much older than her when I started playing roller derby in junior high, and we got scratches and bruises every day… but I can’t help it. Mothers are crazy like that.”

“You're not crazy. Come here”, said Johnny, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I’m glad you’re not at Cobra Kai while I teach, you’d dump me for letting Rani train so hard.”

“Don’t joke about that, of course I wouldn’t! You’re a good teacher, Johnny. All the children in your dojo know that.”

She leaned on his shoulder, without keeping her eyes off Robby and her daughter. Around them, the shadows were getting longer, and the sun was about to disappear behind a group of tall trees.

“You know what I’ve just realized?” she asked Johnny. “I’ve been living in the Valley for two months, and I still haven't seen the sun set in the ocean yet. People say it’s a wonderful view.”

“One day I’m gonna take you and Rani to Sunset Beach. It’s the best place in Southern California to watch that.”

“Judging by the name, I imagine the evenings there will be spectacular. And you know how much Rani loves swimming… it may take the two of us to keep her away from the water.”

“I learned how to swim on that beach. With my mother.”

Kate reached for Johnny’s hand. Every time he talked about his mother it was a sad memory, and she was glad that he at least had some good things to remember her by.

“I’d love to go there with you, Johnny. How about next week?”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

“It’s a deal, then. It will be a nice quiet day after all the excitement today.”

“Talking about excitement… what do you make of that thing with Robby and Keiko?” asked Johnny in a worried tone.

Kate shrugged. “I’m thinking our opinion doesn’t really matter… Especially mine. Robby is a very single-minded boy, nothing you and I can say is going to make him change his mind.”

Johnny stared at the distance, where a group of boys and girls were starting to pack their things and say their goodbyes.

“There must be at least a dozen girls here today”, he groaned. “Why did he have to choose Keiko?”

“That’s cute.”

“What?”

“You, thinking Robby was the one who chose _her_. I noticed Keiko’s face when they met… she looked like she was going to eat him alive. That was a girl with a purpose, if I ever saw one.”

“Bullshit! They hated each other, we almost had to break up a fight.”

“That’s not what I saw”, she said, amused at Johnny’s lack of sight when it came to the female psyche. “Times change, Johnny. Girls don’t sit in a corner anymore, waiting for a boy to arrive.”

“Maybe times have changed too fast. Things were much simpler before”, he said, almost pouting.

“Yes, for boys”, Kate retorted, giving Johnny a mock punch. “But if a girl liked a boy, all she could do was bat her lashes and pray that he would notice her. At least now it’s socially acceptable for a girl to speak up. Or… to take action, even if I think things are happening a bit too fast between those two.”

“Too fast? They made out for two minutes and then Robby asked Keiko out. What’s fast about that? Look, Robby may have done a few silly things last year, but when he was fourteen I gave him the talk about how to treat a woman. He won’t do anything stupid.”

Kate blinked a few times and pressed her lips together. She really didn’t want to know the details of the ‘Lawrence Talk’ about women… a talk that she suspected had stayed the same for at least a century.

“Look, I’m not trying to be Keiko’s mother. And I’m sure Robby is a fantastic boy… I just think that getting to second base in a dinky shed with a boy she’s just met is not the best idea.”

“What the fuck? Second base?” asked Johnny, suddenly scandalized.

“You know that ‘hand up my shirt’ move that you like so much? Well… it’s hereditary. The boy’s a Lawrence, through and through.”

“Oh, shit. You said before that they were just making out!”

“I said that because I didn’t want to scare Daniel and Amanda! They were kissing, yes… but clothes were starting to come off. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t arrive ten minutes later.”

“How the hell...? They’re kids, for fuck’s sake!”

“What, didn’t you do things with girls when you were Robby’s age?”

Johnny blushed, remembering exactly what kind of things he’d done with girls… or, to be more precise, with _one_ girl… at the age of sixteen. Suddenly, second base didn’t seem so outrageous after all.

“Things were different back then. I’m going to talk to Robby and–”

Kate put a hand on his arm. “No, Johnny, you’ll only make him mad at you. What are you going to do, forbid the Cobra Kai kids from dating outside the dojo?”

“I don’t want things getting out of hand.”

“The only person Robby would listen to right now is Daniel”, she said. She hated to bring that name into the conversation, but deep down Johnny had to know she was right. “And even if he told him to get away from Keiko… well, I don’t think Robby would do it. And Keiko will definitely not do what she’s told, you know how headstrong she is. You run a karate dojo, Johnny, not a military boot camp; the kids are allowed to have their own lives outside of it.”

Johnny let out a long sigh. “I know. But all this is making stuff more complicated between LaRusso and us. At least Diaz has met that girl from Krunch… and we have no beef with them. Shit, this excursion is like a fucking episode of the Love Boat!”

Kate laughed at the old-fashioned reference. “I don’t think the All Valley Committee considered the consequences of putting sixty hormonal teenagers together for a whole day. It’s good for public relations, but I predict a few broken hearts in the near future. I wonder how many of the couples formed today will survive until school starts… but that’s a part of life, I guess.”

At the other end of the skate park, Rani was taking off her knee pads. The skating lesson had come to an end… and the day was ending, too.

“We should start getting ready to leave”, Kate told Johnny after checking her watch. “It's past seven, the park closes at seven thirty… and getting all those overexcited kids into the cars is going to be like herding kittens.” She waved to Robby and Rani, who were already walking towards her.

“So... what do you think of your little skating champion, Kate?” asked Robby with a big smile on his face.

“Hey, I’m not little”, Rani protested, stomping her foot.

“Yes, you are, kiddo! It doesn’t matter, because you did a great job today… But now I think it’s time to go home.”

“Did you have fun with Robby, sweetheart?” Kate asked, brushing Rani’s sweaty hair off her forehead.

“It was great! Can I skate with him again soon?”

Kate threw a questioning glance at Robby. The boy smiled and nodded.

“We can go to the Reseda skate park one day… but you’ll have to wait until Robby has some free time to come with us, because during the week he has to work.”

Rani stared at her new friend, confused. Work was something grown-ups did, not boys… not even older boys like Robby.

“Where do you work?” she asked.

“At an auto shop, selling cars”, said the boy. He didn’t mention the place by name; the afternoon had gone too well to spoil it by bringing up Mr. LaRusso in front of his Dad.

“Good. When I’m sixteen and I learn how to drive, I'll go there and buy a car from you”, said Rani, very serious. “A blue one.”

Robby crouched in front of her, grinning.

“When you're sixteen, I’ll sell you the coolest blue car in the whole shop. Now, can I get a hug?”

The girl hugged him, said goodbye, and started running towards the picnic area.

“Oh, there she goes, always running… Rani, wait for me!”, said Kate. “Robby, thank you so much for today. You’ve made a little girl very happy. I hope I’ll see you again soon.”

“It’s okay, Kate. I think I had even more fun than her.”

After a quick hug, Kate sped up after her daughter, and Robby watched them leave with a melancholic smile.

“I didn’t know little kids were like that”, he told Johnny. “I thought they were all obnoxious little brats.”

“Many of them are”, observed Johnny. “But that one is special. So, about you coming to Reseda one day...”

“I think I could do next Sunday”, said the boy. “I’ll text you.”

“Cool. I’ll ask Kate to make dinner so you won’t have to suffer my cooking.”

“Thanks, Dad. Er… I should go too, I’m sure they’re waiting for me.”

Johnny nodded and gave his son a pat on the back. He was still uncomfortable when it came to saying goodbye to Robby. After the boy left, he took a deep breath and started walking in the same direction Kate had gone.

* * *

  
Herding kittens would have been an easier job than getting the San Fernando Valley karate students to leave the park. Everywhere you looked there had been moody teenagers saying tearful goodbyes to their new friends, sneaking behind a tree to give one last kiss to their new crushes, or looking around for some very important thing they had misplaced.

In the end, they had been persuaded to leave, but not before Sue from the All Valley Committee had promised another meeting the following Spring. The announcement was met with a chorus of very loud cheering from the kids, and with tired smiles from all the adults.

About half an hour later, Kate parked her car in front of the South Seas gate, looked in the rear mirror, and smiled. On the back seat, Rani had just fallen asleep.

“Rani, sweetheart… we’re home.”

The little girl rubbed her eyes and yawned.

“I had a lot of fun today, Mom”, she said while they got out of the car and up the stairs to their apartment. “But I’m very tired now.”

“Of course you’re tired! All those games and sports are almost too much for one day. Are you hungry?”

“No, Robby gave me one of his cheese sandwiches before. I just want to go to bed”, Rani sais, her words almost slurry from the exhaustion.

“Very good. Go put on your pajamas while I make some hot cocoa, okay? Then we can both go to sleep.”

She had just put the milk in the microwave, when she heard a familiar rap on the door. Johnny entered, carrying a pink backpack in one hand.

“Found it”, he said, kissing Kate’s cheek. “It was in my car, no idea how it got there.”

“Oh, good! It’s just Rani’s spare clothes, but it would be a shame if her favorite backpack got lost… thank you for bringing it. Did you take the kids home?”

“All of them”, he said with a tired grimace. “It was almost like driving a school bus… but I’m glad I had an excuse to come here and give my girl a proper goodnight kiss.”

Johnny put his arms around Kate and lingered there, smelling her hair while she rested her head on his chest with a sigh. Suddenly, the sound of an opening door made him flinch; he had forgotten that their relationship wasn’t a secret to Rani anymore.

“Hi Sensei!” said the girl. “Hey, you found my backpack!”

“Be more careful with where you leave it next time, okay? You never leave your things lying around at the dojo. It should be the same at home.”

“Yes, Sensei”, she nodded, stifling another yawn.

“Rani, time to drink your cocoa and go to sleep, please; it’s getting late”, Kate said, handing her daughter a steaming mug. Then she served two more and offered one to Johnny.

“Thanks”, he said, sitting on the couch and taking a sip of the hot, sweet drink.

He saw Kate disappear with Rani down the corridor, and a moment later he heard her voice, speaking on soft and measured tones. Probably reading the little one a story, he thought. Normal people did that. Parents read stories to their kids, like Laura had done when he’d been too young to read, or even to understand the story. That had been before Sid came into the picture... before Johnny’s world had turned into an ugly place.

“Penny for your thoughts, mister.”

Johnny opened his eyes to find Kate in front of him. She grabbed the spare cup of cocoa and sat beside Johnny on the couch.

“You wouldn’t like my thoughts”, he deflected. “And they’re not even worth a penny. Is Rattler asleep?”

“Out like a candle. I didn’t even have time to read a whole page… and that's a good thing, or I would have fallen asleep before her.”

“I should leave and let you rest. It’s been a long day for everybody.”

“No, stay a minute, please”, Kate whispered. “We didn’t have time to be alone today.”

He reached for her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers.

“Hey, that thing with Robby and the skating lessons… that was your idea, right?”

“Actually, that one came from Rani”, she answered. “All I did was ask Robby to talk to you for a few minutes. How did that go, by the way?”

“Better than I expected. And he’s coming to Reseda next weekend… You’re a genius, babe.”

“I have my moments”, she said, stifling a yawn.

Johnny left his empty cup on the table and stood up.

“That’s my cue to leave. Thank you for the cocoa… and for today. I can’t believe I was such an idiot that I didn’t want Cobra Kai to go to the park.”

“Well, I’m glad it wasn’t as terrible as you feared. And Cobra Kai made a great impression on everybody… before we left, Sue told me that the Committee was really happy with how everything turned out today; you are responsible for a big part of that.”

“I told you I’d behave”, he said with a childish grin.

Kate accompanied him to the door and put her arms around his neck.

“Johnny… I’d love to ask you to stay, but…” she said in a hesitant tone.

He put a finger to Kate’s lips. “But if I stay the night Rattler is going to start asking questions.”

“Yes. Sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. It’s fine, Kate… your kid comes first”, he said with a sad smile. “You just told her about us, and I don’t want to freak her out. There will be other nights.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise. She’s going to stay at Kevin’s next Saturday, when we go to your school reunion… so that night we’ll have the whole apartment to ourselves.”

“Mmm… sounds tempting.”

“That’s the idea. I want to have all the fun I never had at my senior prom, so you better get ready.”

“Oh, I’ll give you _fun_ , roller girl. You can be sure of it.”

Johnny’s hands slid from Kate's waist to her hips, and he kissed her before she could say anything else. She leaned into the kiss, grabbing Johnny's shoulders and pressing her body against him. There were no interruptions this time… but Johnny knew that, if he let things escalate, he wouldn’t have the willpower to stop. With a heavy sigh he detached himself from her.

“Goodnight, genius.”

“Goodnight, Johnny”, she said, pressing one last kiss to his lips before closing the door.

On the way to his car, Johnny started whistling a tune. If the day at the park was how normal people lived, he definitely wanted that. It was weird, he never thought he’d find himself wishing for a boring suburban life where people went to the park on weekends, made barbecues, and played sports with their kids. Maybe three weeks was too soon to start making plans… especially because he didn't want to scare Kate away. But he had a clear idea of what he wanted now. He could both live in the present and wish for a future.

And, above all… he could wish that the past would stay away forever.


	31. Sandcastles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny and Kate go to Sunset Beach with some extra company. Robby has a brilliant idea for his first date with Keiko... but Los Angeles is smaller than it looks, and he runs into an interesting scene.

CHAPTER 31. SANDCASTLES

In the early 1940s, a physician from Florida named Benjamin Green invented the first effective sunblock, to protect the GIs in the South Pacific from sunburn during WWII. It was called ‘Red Vet Pet’ because it was a red toned petroleum jelly. He later improved on this formula, and the new scented cream became known as Coppertone. In 1944, Coppertone suntan cream was the first commercially mass-produced sunscreen in the United States.

Johnny Lawrence didn’t know any of that. And, if he had known, he wouldn’t have cared. Back in the eighties, when Coppertone was America’s brand of choice, he only wore sunscreen when Ali told him to, and she had to put it on him (that was the only nice thing about the stuff). Even the classic jasmine scent of the lotion felt cloying and girly to him. Besides, he’d always thought that the beach was for swimming, surfing, playing games… and, if the occasion arose, make out with a hot babe. Not for laying there in the sun doing nothing, like a piece of meat on a barbecue.

Oh, how things change.

Fast forward to the present day, he was sitting on a towel in Sunset Beach, shielding his eyes from the light and trying not to move while Kate rubbed sunblock on his back. No matter how many times he told her that it was probably too late for him to avoid sun damage, she still insisted.

“Sun damage accumulates, Johnny”, she said. “Everybody is careless when they’re young;  you should have seen me in the nineties, toasting by the pool covered in SPF 4 tanning oil… but you know better than that now. Besides, if the children see you without sunscreen they won’t want to put it on either.”

The children. Plural, because Kate’s brother and his family were also there. Rattler had told her uncle on the phone a couple of days before, and they had kind of invited themselves. Meeting Hugh and Lola had been an awkward moment for Johnny… but it turned out that Hugh was a cool guy. He worked designing aeroplanes, which in Johnny’s eyes was kinda badass; and he liked Iron Eagle, so at least they had some conversation topics at hand to pass the day.

Kate finished applying the lotion to Johnny’s shoulders, and closed the bottle with a flourish.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

He shook his head and smiled.

“Nah, it’s fine. But now you’re gonna tell me I can’t go into the water yet.”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I said to Rani and Joel: just wait thirty minutes and then you can swim all you want”, she said, pointing to the little girl and her cousin, who were busy building a castle. Beside them, helping them carry sand and water, was none other than Oliver: once the afternoon at the beach had become a sort of family gathering, Kevin and Oliver had volunteered to go as moral support, thinking that Johnny could be overwhelmed by the thought of spending the day with the Williamses. Of course, Oliver was only useful at entertaining the kids, because his favorite topics were fashion, cuisine, and a certain TV show about drag queens… and none of those fell under Johnny’s area of expertise. But at least Kevin and Johnny were friends, and Kevin could talk sports like the best of them.

“So… Johnny, Kate told us that you’re going to your high school reunion this weekend”, said Lola, who was trying to keep her younger son under the shadow of the umbrella; it was almost Jaime’s nap time, and he was fussing a little. “I can never go to mine because I went to school in Miami… too far away. You must be really excited to see your old friends!”

“Yeah, I haven’t seen some of them in ages. Jimmy since his wedding… that’s more than twenty years ago. And I’ve lost count of the last time I’ve seen Dutch. It’s going to be fun.”

“Don’t forget to take pictures”, continued Kate’s brother. “The last time my sister went to a party they were still playing the Macarena, so we’re going to need actual proof that she has a social life again.”

“Hugh, stop!” said Kate, throwing a handful of sand at him. “That’s a filthy lie and you know it. I went to a party in San Francisco four months ago, with the people from my office.”

“It was your going away party! It would have been weird if the person going away didn’t show up. Besides, what fun is to be had at a party full of lawyers?”

Now it was Kevin’s turn to throw sand and look offended.

“Watch that mouth, Hugh… you’re outnumbered by lawyers today. And, in any case, it will always be better than a party full of aeronautical engineers”, he laughed. “And now, little munchkins, who wants to come for a swim?”

Immediately, Rani and Joel jumped to their feet with a hopeful look in their eyes.

“Mom, can I swim now?” asked the little girl.

“Yes, but don’t wander away from Uncle Kevin, do you hear me? Remember that the sea is not a pool, the currents can take you away from the shore if you’re not careful.”

The girl nodded, grabbed her cousin’s hand and started running towards the sea, followed by Oliver and Kevin.

“Joel, ten cuidado y no te alejes de tu prima!” Lola exclaimed.

“Sí, Mamá!” said the little boy as his feet splashed in the water.

Johnny looked at Lola and frowned.

“What did you say to the kid? The only word I caught was ‘careful’.”

“Oh, I just reminded him to take care and stay close to his cousin”, she answered, keeping an eye on little Jaime, who had finally fallen asleep. “You know, Kate speaks some Spanish… she can teach you.”

“I’m useless at languages”, he said in a self-deprecating tone. “Once, when I was in high school, our French teacher threw a book at my head, because I couldn’t pronounce anything right; not one single word. It was the only class I almost failed.”

“That’s hard to believe”, said Kate with a laugh. “How can you live in Southern California and speak absolutely zero Spanish? You’re surrounded by it!”

“Hey, they didn’t teach Spanish at school in my time, only French. But you can give me a few lessons, if you want…”

“I’ll think about it. Maybe if I team up with Miguel's grandmother we’ll be able to get some basic words in your vocabulary.”

“I warn you, I have a very thick head.”

“That had to be an advantage when your teacher hit you with that book.”

“I blocked it”, Johnny said with a smug smile. “I may not be good at languages, but karate is my thing, remember?”

Everybody laughed, and then Hugh went to sit beside Johnny.

“Hey, man, I wanted to ask you… How old does Joel have to be to start at karate? Do you have a class for little kids?”

“Hugh, you can’t be serious!”, said his wife. “He’s not even five years old.”  

“Of course I am! Five is the perfect age to be starting at sports. It will be good for his development, and we won’t have to worry because we know his teacher… sorry, his sensei.”

“Eh… I don’t have a kiddies class yet; I’ve had a few parents asking about that lately”, Johnny answered. “Once school starts at the end of the month I’ll try to start a beginner’s class… but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to teach your boy. I’ve never taught small kids, only teenagers. Except for Rattler, of course, but she’s badass enough to train with the older kids.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine; I’ve seen you talk to Rani, you’re better with children than you think”, said Hugh, shaking Johnny’s hand. “It’s a deal.”

Lola and Kate exchanged a concerned glance.

“Hugh, mi amor… if Joel starts doing karate, _you_ are explaining it to your mother. And letting her know that it was _your_ idea and not mine”, said Lola.

“Of course I will. In fact, I’ll tell them in person next month.”

Kate, who was busy getting some watermelon slices from the cooler, stared questioningly at her brother.

“Are you guys going to Seattle in September? Doesn’t Joel have school?”

“Actually… no. I spoke to Mom yesterday, they’re coming here. It’s not one hundred per cent sure yet, but they’re planning to spend a few weeks in Los Angeles.”

Kate handed Johnny a slice of watermelon and took a small bite of hers. Her smile had practically disappeared from her face.

“But… Weeks? Here? Mom and Dad hate California!”

“Yes, but they finally figured out that neither of us is moving back to Washington anytime soon, and that with their children’s work schedule it’s impossible to get the whole family together in Seattle, except at Christmas time. Lola and I didn’t even make it to Thanksgiving last year, remember? Because I had that deadline on the Hurricane Hunter project”, Hugh explained.

Kate’s frown deepened, and Johnny wondered what could be wrong.

“Please tell me they’re staying at your house.”

“Or at yours, sister dear. What’s the difference?”

“Your place is bigger than mine… and your neighborhood is nicer. They’ll be more comfortable in Encino.”

“Don’t you have a perfectly good guest room at your apartment?”

“Yes, but I haven’t had the time to decorate it yet, it’s just a bed and a chair”, she stated. “Look, they can stay with me the next time they come down here… in five or six years.”

Hugh let out a hearty laugh.

“Confess that you left the room like that on purpose so they can’t stay at your place and criticize every aspect of your life.”

“I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing”, said Kate with a conspiratory smile. “But you know you’re Mom’s favorite, Hugh, and she’s the one calling the shots. I don’t buy that they’re coming to Los Angeles just to enjoy the weather and the traffic jams, there has to be something more.”

Her brother made a pause, and then looked at Kate sheepishly.

“Well… Mom was very interested when I told her about Johnny the other day.”

Kate coughed, half choking on a piece of watermelon, and Johnny had to pat her on the back several times until she came by.

“You did what?” she croaked.

“She asked me a direct question… I can’t lie to Mom!”

“Don’t you remember your high school years, brother dear? You used to keep things from her all the time… And always I covered for you. Why can’t you keep doing it?”

“Katey, calm down”, he said, putting a hand on his sister’s arm. “I only told her that you were seeing someone, no details.”

“Oh, wonderful”, she groaned. “Now I’m going to have to call her and be subjected to the third degree.”

“You’ll be fine!” intervened Lola. “And you’re right about the space, your parents should stay with us. I work from home, so it will be easier for everyone.”

“Lola, you’re an angel. Can you be my sister instead of Hugh?” Kate pleaded, pointing at her brother. “I don’t like him very much right now.”

“Well then, maybe I’ll become Johnny’s brother instead of yours”, Hugh quipped. “We even like the same movies.”

“If you’re talking about Top Gun and Iron Eagle, I had a hunch you two would have similar tastes. And I’m glad Johnny has someone to watch them with… again. And again.”

“Hey, I only made you watch Iron Eagle twice”, said Johnny, defending himself. “And the second time was revenge for that dumb English Christmas movie you told me I had to see.”

Kate shook her head, laughing, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“You poor man. It must be so hard, being the only person on the planet who doesn’t like Love Actually.”

* * *

  
A couple of hours later, the afternoon was coming to an end. Even the children were tired of swimming, and Oliver was teaching them how to make friendship bracelets.  Johnny, seeing an opportunity, suggested that he and Kate take a stroll along the shore; it wasn’t the same as being completely alone, but it was nice to have a moment for themselves, enjoying the cool breeze with the water splashing at their feet.

“So… what do you say, babe? Is that the best sunset you’ve ever seen, or what?”

“You were right about this beach”, she answered, reaching for his hand. “It’s amazing. You said you came here with your mother all the time, right?”

Johnny let out a sigh… but he was smiling.

“My best memories of her are from here. It was different back then… the beach bar didn’t exist, nor the houses over there. My mother drove an old Chevy that made all sorts of weird noises, as if it was going to fall apart in the middle of the road… but I loved those trips to the beach.”

“I’m glad you have those good memories of her”, she said softly. “Oh, and I just had an idea about that little kids class that you were planning.”

“Kate, I still don’t know if that’ll happen. What do I know about teaching preschoolers?”

“Hear me out, please. What if you made Aisha or Keiko… or both of them, your assistants for that group? Aisha is the sweetest and more patient of all your students; and the other day at the lake I heard Keiko say that she has a lot of young cousins, so she’s used to being around children. I’m sure they will appreciate the responsibility… you will only have to take care of the technical aspects of the class, and they’ll deal with the tears, the temper tantrums and all those things. How does that sound?”

“Interesting. I’ll think of it.”

“That’s all I ask”, she said with a smile. “Hey, maybe we should go back… it will be getting dark soon.”

“Wait until the sun sets in the ocean, that was the part I wanted you to see”, said Johnny, taking off his sunglasses and putting them on Kate. “We’ll come here alone next time…  and I’ll show you what people do on the beach at night.”

“That doesn’t sound very practical”, she said, while her cheeks turned a shade of pink. “Doesn’t sand get… well, everywhere?”

“Yeah. _Everywhere_. That’s why you have to go for a swim after”, Johnny answered with a wink, while Kate lowered her eyes. He knew she wasn’t a prude, but he still got a certain satisfaction from making her blush. “You’ve never gone swimming in the moonlight?”

“Swimming at night in Seattle is an extreme sport: the water is chilly all year round. That’s one of the reasons I went South, I hate the cold.”

“Good. I don’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t moved here”, he whispered close to her ear.

Kate’s blush intensified. It wasn’t like Johnny to be so open about his feelings… while at the same time not really saying what he felt. She didn’t want to force a situation, or to scare him away talking about things that would make him uncomfortable. But she hadn’t really considered that maybe Johnny would be the one to raise the issue first.

She leaned on him while he embraced her from behind, both of them facing the vanishing sun. It was an impressive spectacle, with the golden rays setting the sky on fire and reflecting rivers of gold all over the water.

However, Johnny wasn’t really looking at the sunset. He kept his eyes closed, focusing on the woman in his arms, on her soft skin and the coconut scent of her hair. He also wondered if he should keep talking about… feelings, and stuff. He had only said ‘the three words’ to two girls in his whole life, and both relationships had ended badly; he wasn’t going to make that mistake again, jinxing everything by speaking too soon; not unless he knew they were both on the same page. But the words were there, on his mind, teasing him. Daring him to say them.

He wondered what Laura would have thought about Kate. She probably would have told him to confess what he felt… like she’d done when he went to her for advice about Ali, at the start of his sophomore year. It had gone well that time: they had only been dating for two weeks when he’d blurted out his feelings (almost dying of embarrassment in the process); fortunately for him, Ali had thought it was adorable.

But he wasn’t fifteen anymore. And his mother couldn’t help him now.

After watching the sun sink in the horizon, they made their way back to the group. The tide was going up, and the waves were starting to lap at Rani’s castle.

* * *

  
“For the last time, Mom… I only talked to her for ten minutes. I don’t know!”

Robby tried to keep one eye on the road and the other one on the car’s GPS, while maintaining a conversation with his mother. That last part was actually the hardest.

“Yes, she’s a real lawyer. No, I don’t know how old… Yes, brunette. Yes, she’s pretty. Not prettier than you, she’s just… different. No, I didn’t take a picture! What did you want me to say? _Hey Kate, my Mom wants to know what you look like so she can read you for filth?_ ”

On the other end of the line, Shannon’s stream of words went on.

“Of course Mr. LaRusso is treating me well, don’t worry. Look, Mom… can I call you tomorrow? I’m driving. Yes, I love you too. Have fun in Texas. Bye.”

After pressing the ‘end call’ button, Robby let out a loud groan. He was on his way to a date with Keiko, navigating through the meandering streets of Encino… and of course that had to be the moment Shannon chose to call and interrogate him about his Dad’s new girlfriend. He hoped Kate would never find out about some of the adjectives his Mom had just used.

He finally got to the right street and parked in front of the Yashidas’ extravagant mansion. It didn’t even look like a house, more like a collection of artistically piled up shoeboxes, and Robby couldn’t even start to imagine how much it would cost to buy a place like that one. He suddenly felt insecure: It had been one thing to meet Keiko at the park, where everyone was on equal ground. But now he’d seen her neighborhood, dating an Encino Hills girl was starting to sound like a not so good idea. He imagined meeting her parents and his stomach turned; then, he pictured the reverse scenario, Keiko meeting Shannon… and he got so nauseous that he had to get out of the car to breathe.

The sensible thing would be to break up with her… Or rile her up so she broke up with him; he’d done that a couple of times with other girls. But this time he didn’t want to… he was in it too deep.

Robby covered his face with his hands and moaned. It was silly, it was exactly like the first time he’d fallen for a girl at the age of fourteen. Or course he had liked Sam a few months before, Sam was… well, everything he could never have and everything he could never be. Samantha was like the moon, distant and beautiful, perfect and unattainable. And then Keiko appeared, and Sam’s image in his mind was obscured… like the moon when the sun comes out.

 _What was the name of that goddess…?_ Robby frowned, trying to remember the words of his Religious Studies teacher at North Hills High. He had chosen that particular class because it was easy to pass, but of course he had paid zero attention to it.

A quick Google search gave him the answer: Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and the universe. It seemed like a fitting comparison with Keiko, all happy and sunny (and bossy, too, although he couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing); she didn’t give a fuck about appearances and stuff… even when he was from a rival dojo, and not Asian, and poor as a rat.

After looking at the time on his phone once more, and checking that his shirt didn’t look wrinkled, he climbed the front steps of the Yashidas’ house and rang the bell. Keiko must have been waiting for him, because she opened the door in a second. She was wearing a yellow sundress, a nice change from the jeans and Cobra Kai t-shirt of the day they’d met… he didn’t care much about clothes and stuff, but it was nice to think she had dolled up to see _him_. The butterflies in his stomach -and in other places- fluttered harder, and he took a deep breath to calm himself. This wasn’t some trailer trash girl from North Hills, and he didn’t want to screw things up. At least, not so soon… There would be enough time for that when he met her parents.

He didn’t even have time to say hi before Keiko threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Robby stiffened up. “Keiko… your parents?”

“They’re not here”, she answered. “Medical convention, remember? They’ll be out of town all week. And Shiro is watching old Japanese movies in the media room, so don’t worry about him either. Where are we going?”

“You guys have a media room? Like… like a movie theater at home?”

“It was in the house when we moved in”, she shrugged. “But going to the movies is more fun than watching them here.”

“I’m glad you said that, because we’re going to the Electric Dusk drive-in. To see Ghostbusters.”

“The old one? No way! I’ve been wanting to watch it for ages”, she said, taking Robby’s hand and closing the door as they went out.

“Yeah, sometimes I’ve got good ideas”, Robby said, relieved that Keiko liked his choice of film.

“Nice car”, observed Keiko, looking at the sleek Audi convertible. “Where did you steal it?”

“Very funny, Spike”, he retorted. “It’s from the dealership, Mr. LaRusso let me borrow it for today. I can’t get one scratch on it, or I’m toast.”

* * *

  
The drive to Electric Dusk took about half an hour, during which Robby and Keiko went over their tastes in music, food, movies, and books… any topic but karate, which both of them tried to avoid; Robby was surprised to discover that he was more literature adept than Keiko, and even more surprised to learn that she shared his deep hatred for white chocolate. It was a relief to him that, despite their differences, at least they had a few things in common.

Once they got to their parking spot, Keiko stayed in the car while Robby went to the concession stand to get some food. The movie wouldn’t start for another twenty minutes or so, and the place was still half empty. He bought sodas and a couple of burgers, and then made his way back to the car… but halfway there he bumped into something unexpected.

Or, rather, someone.

Behind a line of cars, in one of the empty drive-in spaces, there was a group of boys and girls sharing a pack of beers. Robby knew the type well: all the boys wore Chinos slacks and Tommy Hilfiger polo shirts, and the girls spoke in affected Valley Girl voices, giggling way louder than any normal pair of ears could stand. He had seen plenty of those rich kids in his former hunting grounds, when Trey and Cruz had taken him under their wing; privileged people always felt safe behind their money, so of course they were an easy source of expensive watches and cell phones.

But there was an anomaly in the middle of the group, someone Robby wasn’t expecting to see again so soon. None other than Miguel Diaz, with a beer in one hand and that Krunch girl hanging from his other arm. And looking like a fish out of water.

“So… Miguel, we’ve been discussing something all day and we need another opinion”, said the tallest of the preppy boys, one who wore a pink shirt and way too much hairspray. “I think we should all go to Vail next Winter, but Poppy and the girls say they’d rather go to Aspen.”

“Oh, come on, Collins!” whined the blonde next to him, that Robby assumed to be ‘Poppy’. “Everybody knows Vail is completely _out_! It was fine in, like, the nineties. Daddy says everybody who’s somebody skis in Aspen.”

“Everybody who’s somebody skis in Switzerland”, interrupted another girl, speaking with so much vocal fry that Robby had trouble understanding her words. “But my parents won’t let me go there until I graduate. They practically have me on house arrest this year!”

“Aspen is totally cool, Tom Cruise has a house there”, said Poppy.

“Ew, you like old dudes now?”

“My Mom is the one who likes him, silly!”

“Your Mom is so fake that Barbie’s jealous, girl.”

“Anyway”, continued Collins, interrupting the bickering. “If we all talk to our parents and organize it well, we could make a cool ski trip for New Year’s. But the question remains: Aspen or Vail? Miguel, did you go skiing last year?”

Several pairs of eyes looked at the Latin boy waiting for an answer… and Robby hid behind a car, trying not to laugh. There was no way he’d leave now, he needed to see how the scene ended.

Miguel’s face went red as a beet, and he stammered trying to think of something intelligent to say.

“Ah… well, it depends on what each person likes, of course… and then there’s the weather…”

“Collins, you know perfectly well that Miggy spent the whole last year concentrating in his karate so he could win the tournament”, interrupted the Krunch girl, sliding her arm around Miguel’s waist. “He didn’t have time for ski trips! Although he and I were talking about it the other day, and we both agree with Poppy: Aspen is _the_ place to be. End of discussion.”

“Oh, right, you’re into martial arts!” squealed the blond-haired Poppy. “My Mom and Dad were at the All Valley last May, and they say you were ah-mah-zing!”

He barely had time to mumble an embarrassed ‘thank you’, before another of the boys spoke to him.

“So, where do you go to school? Maria didn’t tell us.”

That was an easier question; Miguel tilted his chin up and looked at the boy in the eye, wondering if Maria’s friends would like the answer.

“West Valley High.”

“No way, man, me too!” was the unexpected reaction. “I’m transferring from Woodland Hills for senior year. It’s the best private school around here, a one way ticket to Harvard. But there was that scandal with a teacher last semester, and my parents don’t want me to go there anymore, so… I guess I’ll mingle with the uncultured masses this year. I was freaking out because school starts in two weeks, but at least I’ll have a friend there now, that’s cool.”

“Ah… yeah, totally cool”, muttered Miguel, relieved. “Hey, the movie is about to start, so… Maria and I are going to get some popcorn. See you guys later, okay?”

He grabbed his girlfriend’s hand and walked towards the popcorn stand, trying to make it look like he wasn’t running away from more possibly uncomfortable questions about things he knew nothing about.

After they’d left, Robby emerged from his hiding place with a crooked smile on his face. He didn’t envy Miguel; the poor idiot hadn’t realized that it would take more than bragging about karate to fit in with the Encino Hills elite, with their conversations about lacrosse, skiing, and vacations in foreign places. Robby felt relieved that Keiko’s friends were the Cobra Kai students, and not a flock of scatterbrained Valley kids. He knew how to manage the Cobra Kai (mostly by staying away from them, but that was another story).

Laughing to himself once more he went back to the car, sat beside Keiko, and waited for the movie to start.

He almost felt sorry for the Diaz twerp. Not quite, but… yeah. Almost.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter was a bit too mushy, we all know that sometimes the Lawrence boys feel things too deeply.
> 
> Next chapter will be Johnny's high school reunion, so... get ready to see the OG Cobra boys!

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews give me life, and I appreciate concrit too because English is not my first language. Thank you for reading!


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